It's been 27 days, 13 hours, and 43 minutes since Willow was kicked out of Buffy's house, and Tara left her. Since then, the two of them have been slowly repairing their relationship. Since then, Willow has been living with her parents. Willow takes a deep breath and pushes the key into the university dorm and turns it. As she crosses the threshold, a tension, that has been building since her parents first had her pray with them, vanishes with a massive exhalation of breath, and a sagging of her shoulders.
Smiling for what feels like the first time in 27 days, 13 hours, and 44 minutes, Willow turns around to face Anya and Tara, "And here we are, sweet freedom once more. Come on in and just put the stuff on one of the beds. Thank you both so much for helping me move my stuff."
Tara kisses Willow on the cheek as she walks past.
Once the three of them are sat down, with Willow and Tara sharing a bed, while Anya sits opposite them.
Anya reaches out with her hand, and then drops it, "How do you think Xander's getting on?"
Willow shakes her head, "He's probably suffering horribly as we speak."
Tara raises her hand, "I'm not sure that's true. Anya, you were a vengeance demon, what was it like for you?"
Anya looks up, "Pretty boring actually. I mean, yeah, I went out to find scorned women and find out what their wish was, but granting it was fairly automatic you know. After that, you head back to hell and fill out the paperwork, chat with the other demons about their jobs, and move onto the next job. Pretty much what I do now, except I don't have a boss anymore."
Tara waves her hand towards Anya, "See, it's not necessarily a bad thing. I mean living there, not as a victim."
Anya nods, "You're right, but mine isn't the only hell there is. And we all still technically had our souls. I just wonder what Buffy went through to make her so deliciously vicious."
Tara nods with a sigh, "She carries a lot of pain with her. Yet her heart is bigger than it has any right to be."
"Yeah, obviously, but what did she experience? What did she see touch, do?"
Tara thinks about the snatches of dreams that have woken her in a cold sweat over the last month, of having a floating robot put stuff in her head to stop her going insane. Of the constant fighting, and the oh so insidious headsets. And more recently, of living alone on a star ship with nobody around her for millions of miles, "War, constant and endless war. And isolation."
Willow looks down at her hands, "We rescued her from that. We saved her. But it's still haunting her."
"Willow, I don't think we can judge if she was saved or kidnapped. All we can do is be there for her."
Anya smiles, "And maybe we can get her to bring my Xander back quicker. The bed is awfully empty without him, and a girl has needs." When she sees Tara's expression she hurries on, "Ok, so maybe we could do some of the things we used to do before life got crazy. You know, shopping, dancing, going to the cinema, viciously slaughtering vampires and bunnies. You know, normal stuff."
Willow looks up, "I know, we can fix her. Take away all of her pain."
Tara looks over at Willow in dismay, "No Willow. No more spells."
Willow looks at Tara with a hurt expression, "Tara, this isn't the sort of thing that can be fixed with just getting her to do normal stuff."
"Willow, spells aren't the answer. What if something goes wrong? You know how powerful magic is, and how dangerous it is."
"I know what I'm doing Tara. Nothing will go wrong."
Anya grimaces, "Uh, I should be getting home, as I need to open the shop in the morning."
Without noticing Anya slipping out, Tara shoots back, "Oh, like you knew nothing could go wrong with Buffy's resurrection, and we made the entity that possessed us, and tried to kill Buffy? Or how you violated me over an argument?"
Willow looks shocked, "Tara, I didn't violate you."
"Willow, you stole my memories. I still don't have them back, and I likely never will. You violated me."
"Tara, I'm sorry."
"That's not the point Willow. How could you, after what Glory did to me?"
Willow reaches out to touch Tara's hand, but Tara pulls it away, "But Tara, I didn't mean it like that. I just didn't want us to fight anymore. I love you."
Tara lets out an exasperated sigh, "Willow, if you don't want to fight, you just don't fight. You don't use magic to make a fight disappear."
"But I just wanted to make things better…"
"For who? You, or me?"
"For both of us."
"Willow, you can't do that by taking things away from me, from other people. I just… I can't be with you if you're still like this after a month."
Willow sags, "Ok"
"Willow, relationships take work, you can't just magic the problems away, otherwise it's not a partnership, it's slavery."
"No, I would never."
"Willow…"
"No, I realise now, I did it wrong."
Tara sighs, "You did it the same way you're doing everything. As soon as you encounter something a little hard, a whispered spell, and the difficulty's gone. I don't think you even consider other options anymore."
"I do, I don't use magic for everything. I'll prove it, no magic for a week, I promise."
Tara closes her eyes for a moment, "Ok, one week. But if you can't, that's it, we're over for good."
As Tara gets up and leaves the dorm room, Willow starts to sort out her stuff by hand. After she's come across her second tangle of tights, she huffs, looks around, and with a muttered spell, everything is neatly put away. Looking at the rat in the cage Willow holds her finger over her lips, "Shh, don't tell Tara."
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Buffy's on her way home via the 13 cemeteries in Sunnydale, eliminating 3 new vampires on the way. As she's passing through the last one before she gets home, Spike calls from behind a grave marker, "Buffy."
Buffy comes to a stop and turns around, "Spike?"
"We need to talk."
"Spike, what do you have to talk about that can't be said at home?"
"Look, I've got nothing against your home, but I'd rather not be shot at, or attacked by that thing masquerading as Dawn's therapy cat."
"Well, that's why we have a doorbell Spike."
"Look, I wanted to talk about us."
Buffy looks confused, "What about us?"
"We've kissed, and well you and me…"
Buffy laughs, "Spike, Buffy Summers may have kissed you, but I certainly haven't."
"But we hang out, and laugh together. You invite me round to watch stuff and talk."
"Spike, that just makes us friends. That's it."
"Don't you feel anything for me?"
Buffy lunges for Spike and pulls him into the void as a stake passes through his heart. As they come out of the void a moment later, Spike shivers, "I never wanted to see that, ever."
Buffy, on the other hand, steps around spike with her left hand raised, only to stop when she sees a humanoid shark flanked by two vampires.
What causes her to pause, is the shark spreading his hands, "Now easy boys, no need to get physical, eh?" Spike turns around to face the demon as it chuckles, "Is there Mr Spike?"
Buffy sighs with exasperation, "You know this guy?"
Spike nods slightly, "Yeah, what do you want?"
The shark starts to walk forward, "I would like a lot of things Mr Spike. A house in Bel Vue, a good wine, and the 40 siamese kittens you owe me."
Buffy stares at Spike, "Spike, that's six and a half weeks wages if they were normal kittens. What did you do to owe that many."
The shark man looks at Buffy, "Oh a woman of refinement. Well, go on Mr Spike, what did you do with my kittens."
"You'll get your kittens."
Putting his arm over Spike's shoulders, "The question is when Mr Spike."
"I just need a little more time."
"Oh, time, time, time is what turns kittens into cats, where I my Kittens Mr Spike."
Buffy rolls her eyes, "Look, I get that Spike is in debt to you. However you seem to be new in town, so I will give you my normal warning. No hurting, eating, or killing civilians. I should really add enslaving or kidnapping too. So five things. No Hurting, eating, enslaving, killing, kidnapping civilians. If you do any of those things, I will find you and you will die. That applies to you in the back too, and turning counts as both eating and killing, just so you know."
The thug on the left calls back, "But how are we supposed to survive?"
"The same way everyone else does that isn't on my to kill list. Eat something else. I hear that kittens are the delicacy de jour in these parts. Anyway, I'm heading home."
Spike looks after her with a betrayed expression, "Buffy!"
Buffy calls over her shoulder, "I'd start negotiating a repayment plan before he figures out that he can just black list you from gambling until you pay him back."
Spike mutters, "Shit!" under his breath.
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Giles looks up from the small couch in the training room as Buffy opens the door, "Buffy, thank you for coming. I've asked the others to be here too."
Buffy smiles, "It's ok Giles, though Dawn won't make it, as she's at school."
Giles looks down at his hands, "Oh, yes, I'd forgotten about that, and you have work after that. Buffy. Buffy, this is very hard for me, as I've known you, well I've known Buffy Summers, since you were 15 and I was assigned as your watcher."
Buffy sits next to Giles, "When does your plane leave?"
"Tomorrow, but how did you know?"
"Giles, this isn't the first time we've had a similar conversation. But the is the first time you started it with a trip down memory street."
"Memory lane. But yes, I suppose it is, isn't it. Buffy, your life before, it's left you callous. Underneath that you are still a lovely young woman. I only need to look at Dawn and Tara to see that. But you need to learn compassion and forgiveness, especially for humans. After all, the job of The Slayer is to defend humanity from the forces of evil."
Buffy shakes her head sadly, "You're right Giles, my life did make me callous. Note I said my life, not my life before. It left me callous, not heartless. It did that by forcing me into situations where the hard choice was to do something now instead of showing compassion and trying to save them later. Because in my world, all to often later meant that they were destroyed anyway. Too much compassion and consideration is just as bad, after all, have you spoken to Willow about her magic use yet?"
Giles looks up at Buffy, "Ah, no. I was going to wait for an opportune time when life wasn't so hectic. But I suppose that tomorrow will be too late now."
"Exactly. Giles, I asked you to have that conversation because I can't. She sees me as her peer, and she also knows that I know nothing about magic. Anything that I say will be humoured and then forgotten. The same is true of Tara. You are the only one that could talk to her from a position of authority, but you refused to do that. What do I do if she goes bad? Kill her out of hand? Send her to hell like I did Xander? Those are my only options Giles. You are a good man Giles, but you are a soft man. When it comes to the wire, I can trust you to be there. But you suggest when you need to tell, you step forward when you should hold back. You offer comfort when you should be admonishing. And sometimes, you do the opposite. All of us did that, I suppose we learnt it from you. And Dawn paid the price. And, yes I've spoken to Dawn about her time while I was away. Sending the Buffybot alone to parents day. Where were you then?"
Giles reels slightly, "I-I-I…"
"No Giles, your conversations with me have always gone the same way. You make comments that sound like suggestions. You talk around the problems you're talking about. I'm sure you've been hinting about the callous thing for months. But today is the first time you came out and said it. Also, I've read Vampyre, and the rules are awful. The slayer must forsake all human company? I did that, I did that for 600 years. It didn't help. All it's doing is ensuring that the Slayer dies early. But that's ok, another one will appear as soon as she carks it. No, that book is an instruction manual on enslaving young woman to do your bidding and be used as a weapon. I've been a weapon, I hope you never find out what it's like."
Giles looks surprised, "You've read it?"
"Don't look so surprised, it was in the concealed compartment at the side of the weapons chest. I needed Tara's help to translate it, as I still sometimes have trouble with English, let alone any of the other languages on this planet."
"But the council…"
"Is a group of old men who would run at the first sight of almost anything from my… old… home…" Buffy's voice trails off into wonder, "This is my home now."
"Buffy, despite all of that, what you did with Xander was despicable."
Buffy looks at Giles and crosses her arms, "Giles, tell me anything I could have done that doesn't amount to ignoring it and hoping it doesn't happen again, or killing him."
"Well, you could have had a strong word with him."
"Giles, Xander."
"Oh, yes quite. You could have handed him over to human authorities."
"And what, tell them that he's guilty of immolating hundreds of people across the city because he summoned a demon, and then didn't tell anyone?"
"You could have handed him over to the council."
"Giles, be honest here. What would they have done?"
"Um, well… They'd have either executed him, conscripted him, or let him go."
Buffy nods, "So, killed him or ignored the problem and hope it doesn't happen again."
"Conscripting isn't ignoring the problem Buffy."
Buffy rolls her eyes, "Oh right, sorry, I'll add, or make it easier for him to do again in the future."
Giles looks hurt, so Buffy adds, "Giles, you're a good man, and I keep telling you that. But that doesn't mean you're perfect. You are ideal in your role as an advisor, who's job it is to nudge his students towards the answer they need. You have a nearly encyclopaedic knowledge of Demons and magic. But you were put into a position where you needed to be the parent to a 14 year old because none of the people who were responsible for her, were ready for that. Void they'd barely cope with a baby, but at least they can't make their own decisions while someone's fumbling through learning how to be a parent. I'm pretty sure that Willow's problems with magic could have been resolved before it became a problem if you stepped in and actually explained why things are done the way they're done, and taught her the right ways. That doesn't make you a bad person Rupert. It just makes you a person. Anyway, I think the others are arriving, so I'll see you outside."
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On a large metal tray sitting on the chest of drawers in her room, Willow opens a large pack of the flowers needed for the memory spell. Carefully taking out two of them, careful not to damage the leaves or flowers, she places one on top of the other on the other side of the tray. Taking a clear quartz from the top drawer of her she looks at it for a short moment, wondering if Tara had a point. Shaking her head, she places the crystal on the tray next to the flowers. Taking a lighter from the same drawer, she starts to chant the words to the spell as she flicks the lighter until she gets a flame, and then lights the flowers. Keeping her mind on the idea that Buffy and tara will forget all of the slights and mistakes of the past, Willow places the lighter horizontally below the flowers. Picking up the quartz, she touches it to the flame while drawing on magic to enforce her will on the world. A spark of dark green magic jumps from the crystal to the flame, and Willow smiles in satisfaction. Placing the crystal into a pouch, she turns around and gathers her jacket before leaving for the shop.
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Tara smiles as she leaves the house. Life is starting to look up again, she has a home, Willow is getting better, and their relationship is getting back due to the hard work on both sides. Willow has even been using less magic since Buffy kicked her out. Hopefully, Willow can go a whole week without using magic, and earn back her trust. Briefly looking in the mirror at the hairdo that Dawn helped her with the other night. She nods and smiles, yes life is definitely looking up.
Grabbing her purse, and a warm jacket, she dances out of the house to unheard music.
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Buffy looks up from her perch on the library steps, that serves two purposes allowing her to see the whole shop, as well as stopping anyone from just waltzing up the steps to the more dangerous books. The object of her attention walks around the display shelf, and Buffy calls out, "Hey Willow."
Willow looks up, and puts on a smile, "Hi Buffy, no Dawn?"
Buffy looks to the ceiling, "No, as it's a school day, and she doesn't finish for another half hour."
"Oh, right, I knew that."
As Willow is setting down her top, Tara walks in and gives her a hug, "Hey Willow, how's the dorm?"
Willow turns around and returns the hug, and kissing Tara on the cheek, "It's great. Amy has a good view out of the window and I don't have to worry about a roommate. I like your hair."
Tara smiles, "Thanks, Dawn did it for me."
Willow's face falls slightly as Tara turns away from her and sets her purse by a chair, and sitting down, "Oh." Willow discreetly pulls out the quartz to see its progress, her smile widening as she sees it's almost black.
Buffy frowns, as Willow's movements twig her instincts, and starts to stand up. Before she can step down, Giles opens the door to the backroom.
Wringing his hands, Giles walks to the open area by the till, "Thank you for coming everyone. I, just wanted to talk to you all about the future. I have been wrestling with a decision over the last few months. It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to return to England."
Willow gasps, and Anya walks out from behind the till. Tara shares a sad glance with Buffy, before looking back at Giles.
Shaking her head, Willow asks, "But what about Buffy? She still needs you."
Giles shakes his head, "No Willow, Buffy is a large part of the reason I'm leaving. She has already learnt everything I can teach her, and more. She has outgrown me, and has been making decisions taking into account far more than someone of her apparent age. Much as I am loath to admit it, the decision she made with Xander was the only one available to her that will have any impact."
Willow shouts, "How could you say that! She condemned him to hell."
Giles sags, "Yes, she did. But that doesn't make it the wrong decision. I've spent the last twenty minutes trying to come up with a better decision considering what he did. Willow, I'd like to have a long overdue chat with you about magic after this. We can also go through why what happened is probably the best that Xander could have reasonably expected."
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In a university dorm room, a single spark unerringly jumps out of the dying embers of two flowers, into the bag of flowers carelessly left on the metal tray. The flowers in the bag quickly burst into fire as the magic of the spell consumes them.
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Willow nods, "We can do that."
Giles nods, "Thank you. And I know it feels like we're doing this all over again. However, this is a day that was always going to come eventually. I would like to congratulate all of you for everything that you've done. The lives you've saved, and the help that you've given each other. There's one more piece of advice that I want you all to think about. You are all adults now, and you have new responsibilities outside your friendships." Giles indicates Buffy and Anya, "Work," gesturing to Willow and Tara, "or Education. You are also maturing, and your view of the world is changing. You may find it hard to let go of what you had before, and you don't need to do it immediately. But it will happen, it's part of growing up. No longer can you just drop everything to go to the movies. Neither can you pop off to the Bronze without considering the impact on your day tomorrow. Buffy has made it clear that I should have had this sort of conversation with all of you over the last year. As, apart from Willow, none of the rest of you have parents that can give any advice."
Giles takes off his glasses and dabs at his eyes as he takes a seat at the table, "This is harder than I thought it would be. I feel like I failed all of you in one way or another."
Willow shakes her head, "No, no, you didn't fail us. You did everything you could."
Giles gives a wan smile, "It's kind of you to say that. But the fact is that I have failed you. It's part of the reason I'm leaving." He takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly, "It's not the only reason, it's where my lady friend lives. It's where the council library is. There are so many different reasons behind it. Once I'm gone, I want you all to listen to Buffy. She's got a lot a lot more experience, and it has shaped her in ways that, quite frankly, are better suited to holding the line against Evil, with a capital E."
Giles' self-deprecating monologue is abruptly interrupted when a man wreathed in smoke bursts through the front door to the shop.
"You need to grant me sanctuary." Spikes voice calls out of the smoke surrounding him. As he steps away from the door, the smoke clears to reveal a tweed suit with a hat with flaps to cover his ears.
Buffy sighs, "What did you do now Spike. And what's with the clothes?"
Spike looks over to Buffy, "Those guys are just insane. And it's a disguise, innit."
Buffy pinches her nose, "Spike, what did you do?"
Spike walks over to the counter and jumps up to sit on it, facing the rest of the room, "Why are you accusing me, they're the ones hounding me day and night." As he does, Anya sits down next to Giles waving at her face, when the counter doesn't break.
Buffy starts walking over to the front, "Because, you're the one that owes them…"
Buffy only gets halfway to the door when she collapses to the floor, shortly followed by everyone else in the store.
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In one of the hells, Xander collapses in the middle of another freak out about having tentacles.
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At one minute past four, Vhesthine answers the phone.
"Good evening, Mikes Machining. I'm afraid that we're closed for the day… I see, I'm afraid that Miss Summers hasn't arrived yet… Yes, I'm Vhesthine… She has?... I am?... I will be there as soon as I can… Yes, I have a car… Goodbye."
After putting down the phone, Vhesthine knocks on Razial's office door, and pushes it open when a "Yes?" is heard from inside.
"Razial, I have just received a call from Dawn Summers school."
Razial looks up at Vhesthine, "Why are you bothering me with this?"
"Because she collapsed nearly an hour ago, and they haven't been able to contact Buffy. It seems that Buffy also put my name down as an emergency contact when she added the company details."
"Why do I employ Buffy again?"
"Because, since she started, Extortion attempts are down 20%, non-payment of items is down a similar amount. Finally, you haven't had to defend any of the staff during that time."
"Oh, yes, a valuable investment. What do you need?"
Vhesthine relaxes, "The school needs me to pick her up, as her emotional support cat won't let the ambulance men close."
Razial nods, "Divert the phones to my office, and leave my door open. Also, find out what the ambulance drivers are. I want to know if someone is trying to gain leverage over us."
Vhesthine nods before backing away, and then leaving.
20 minutes later she's pulling into the school, having changed into a rather more conservative outfit to her normal one. While she's walking through the carpark, she mutters a short spell to allow her to see the truth of what she's looking at. Lifting up her hand to check, she smiles at the ghostly image of her succubus hand over the small Chinese hand and intricately painted nails, that her human form has. As she pushes open the door, the sound of her heels make a sharp staccato on the way to the reception desk.
Putting on a kind smile for the person on the other side of the counter, Vhesthine says, "Good afternoon, you phoned me earlier about Dawn Summers."
The person looks up, and curtly asks, "Can I see some ID?"
Vhesthine nods and takes her drivers licence out of her purse before handing it over. After barely giving it a glance, it's handed back, "Through the double doors there, third door on your right."
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As Vhesthine enters the schools infirmary, her eyes are drawn to Dawn, and the cat that's sitting on her, hissing at a couple of men on the other side of the room. A slight frown graces her face as there are no ghostly images around any of the people in the room.
"Good afternoon, I'm Vhesthine, here for Dawn."
An older human man, with sliver hair, turns around from his desk at the far end of the room, "Ah yes, would you be able to remove Miss Summers service animal so that she can be taken to the hospital?"
Vhesthine shakes her head, "I'm sorry, I can't as I don't know if Buffy Summers insurance covers an ambulance ride. As it stands, I was under the impression that you wanted me to take Dawn anyway."
The man shakes his head, "Oh, no. The school couldn't do that, and if you take her yourself, I'll need you to sign a waiver stating that the school is not liable for her health if she develops complications."
Vhesthine taps her foot as she thinks, "I'll take the risk."
After signing the forms, she easily picks up Dawn, and the cat, before making for the door.
"Would you gentlemen mind getting the doors for me?" A practiced purr in her voice causes the ambulance men to pay attention, and race each other for the doors.
As she walks down the corridor, the old man shakes his head, "Kids these days, a pretty face and a husky voice, and they're all over themselves."
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Once they get back to the workshop, Vhesthine has Roselyn help her up to the reception. There she lays Dawn down on the couch like chairs.
Vhesthine's about to go and change, when Razial comes out of his office and looks at Dawn curiously.
"Did you see anything out of the ordinary?"
Vhesthine steps respectfully to the side of Dawns couch, "No master, they all seemed to be human, to sight and scent."
"Interesting, so why wouldn't you let them close? I see. They wanted to separate the two of you." Razial casts a spell with a long incantation, spoken in a long forgotten tongue.
As the spell settles over Dawn in gossamer like threads, Razial nods thoughtfully, "Interesting, the spell has a contagion component to it. I have no doubt the caster was unaware of that component."
Vhesthine struggles not to step back, "Is it dangerous to us?"
"No, it's working off of emotional bonds. The way it's working is quite remarkable though, as it appears to be blocking off a few memories before referencing the rest of the brain and comparing it against some concept the spell was primed with. It is then blocking off a few more memories, before repeating the cycle. It's a shame they chose to do it to the Slayers sister. I have no doubt they will be dead by the end of the weekend."
Vhesthine nods, "Yes Master."
Razial walks back to his office before turning back to Dawn and casting a spell that sees her skin turn red, and small horns grow out of her forehead. Her legs turning digitigrade, and fingernails lengthening are the only other obvious changes. However, under her clothes, a tail slithers down her skirt.
With a mild question in her voice, Vhesthine asks, "Master?"
Razial waves her off, "I believe the child wondered what it was like to be a Succubus. This will both protect her until the spell is broken, and give you the opportunity to show her."
"I do not believe that Buffy would approve of Dawn losing that particular innocence just yet."
"It is merely a glamour, not a true change."
As the door to Razial's office closes, Vhesthine sits down beside Dawn and strokes her hair gently. Each stroke of her hand removing more of the bleaching, to reveal the now black locks that trail down to Dawn's waist. As the last of the bleach is removed, a fond smile takes over Vhesthine's face, and tears for a time thought lost trickle down her face.