E-mail: shannalynn9064@yahoo.com
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~Part: 11~
The short drive to the Hyperion was filled with question after question being thrown at the vampire. He had forgotten how curious Willow always had been. How she had always dug into Giles’ demonology texts searching for answers. Her mind constantly working, turning situations over and over, trying to find solutions. So needless to say, her curiosity about her life and friends were the driving force behind the third degree Angel had received. Gunn sat on the right, Willow squeezed in between he and his boss, an amused smirk on his lips, taking in the scene, watching the dark haired man try to keep up with the redhead’s questions.
"So you’ve known me for six years, you said?"
"Yes."
"Were we close friends?"
"Not exactly close. But I always liked you. I always thought you were a kind, compassionate person. We always, . . . well, almost always got along. You were Buffy’s best friend and we were around each other a lot."
"So how old am I?"
"Ummm, I think you’re twenty-one by now. If not, then close."
"What about family? Do I have any family?"
"You’re an only child. Your parents seem to travel quite a bit. Psychologists, I believe. You used to mention seminars they would attend and speak at."
"So if they’re away a lot, do you think they just haven’t missed me yet?"
"Well, I’m pretty sure you were living with Buffy. You weren’t living at home anymore."
"Living with Buffy? Do we go to college? Is she my roommate?"
"Well, yes, you go to college. Sunnydale University. You and Buffy used to be roommates in the dorms, but after her mother died, you moved in with her at her house to help her take care of her younger sister."
Willow’s eyes widened. "You said her mom died. What about her dad?"
"He lives here, in LA, last I heard, but he doesn’t seem too interested in helping out. I’m not quite sure of the entire story. That was the general impression I got from Buffy when we discussed it."
The redhead looked outraged. "How could a man just ignore his daughters? Is Buffy the same age that I am?"
"Yes."
"How old is her sister?"
"Dawn should be fifteen or sixteen."
"So he left a twenty-one year old to raise a teenager?" The question was shrieked, drawing attention from the people on the sidewalk next to where they were stopped for a stoplight.
"Ummm, pretty much?" Angel wasn’t sure how to answer that question. He and Buffy had discussed things briefly when they had met after Willow had raised her from the dead. She had been disgusted at her father’s behavior, but most of all she was hurt. He sent a small support check each month to help with food and clothing for Dawn, but he had never once offered to help with the household expenses.
"So what’s Buffy like? And you had mentioned a, ummm, Giles? Said he was like a father? What’s he like? Do I have a lot of friends? Do I have hobbies? Oh, oh, oh, what do we do for fun? Do you know what I’m studying in college?"
"Woah!! Hold up there, Red." Gunn started laughing as she began throwing out questions one after another, not even giving his boss a chance to reply. "We know you have a lot of questions, but let’s just take it easy, OK? We’re almost at the hotel. Let’s get back, Fred and I can get you settled while Angel calls your friends to find out what they know, then we can all sit down and have a nice long talk, alright?"
Willow turned her gaze to Gunn. "Who’s Fred?"
~Part: 12~
Buffy sat nervously, fidgeting with her purse strap, checking her watch every thirty seconds. She looked over at her sister, sitting next to her. Dawn looked as worried as Buffy felt. The girl was twisting her long hair around her finger, twirling it until it was tight, releasing it, brushing it loose and starting again. Xander had gone to one of the snack shops to get drinks and sandwiches for the group. They had about twenty minutes before they were to board their flight.
"Buffy, do you think she’s OK?" Dawn spoke so softly, if it hadn’t been for her slayer hearing, she never would have caught it.
"I hope so Dawnie. Giles is looking for her. Anya already teleported there, so she’s going to help him. Maybe they’ll have a lead by the time we get there. If we’re lucky, they’ll find her before we get there, then we can all slay the baddie that took out the coven she was staying with and then who knows? A little sight seeing before we head back to get you registered at the new high school. Maybe take in Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, ya know. Oh, maybe we’ll even see that hottie Prince William." She elbowed her sister lightly, trying to ease some of the tension that was running through both of their bodies.
"I have returned bearing sustenance. Mocha for my favorite Slayer and a strawberry milkshake for my favorite, ummm, little sister to the Slayer." Xander handed out the drinks and tossed each girl a styrofoam container of food.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "I’m her ONLY sister, Xander."
"Yeah, well, you’re still my favorite. Cut a guy some slack Dawnie. I’m working on a shorted out brain here."
"Sorry," she mumbled before digging into her tuna salad sandwich.
"Don’t worry about it. I’m just. . . We’re all worried about Willow. Thank God Giles was able to wire us the money for tickets. I would have gone stir crazy sitting around here, not knowing what was going on over in Jolly Ol’, ya know?"
Buffy shivered as she recalled the phone call she received that afternoon.
"Hello?"
"Buffy, there’s a problem." The Slayer immediately felt the back of her neck tingle and she stood straighter at the kitchen island.
"Giles, did you talk to Willow?"
"Willow wasn’t at the house," came his quiet but shaky reply.
"Do you know where she went? Did you ask any of the others?"
"Buffy, I couldn’t ask any of the other members of the coven. They are all, . . .uh, Buffy I found them all dead." He hurried on, trying to forestall the hysterics he knew would be hitting his former charge. "I checked throughout the entire house. Willow is nowhere to be found, but all the other witches were dead."
Fifty thousand different thoughts hit Buffy all at once. "Giles, you don’t think that she lost control again do you?" It came out sounding scared, begging him to tell her that her best friend hadn’t gone on a killing spree.
"No, I don’t believe so. Whatever killed these women was powerful and had claws or talons. They were ripped to shreds Buffy. I. . .I’ve never seen such carnage before. Unfortunately it appears that this. . .this massacre didn’t take place recently. The bodies were rather, uh, bloated and already decaying."
"So Willow’s been missing for a while? Giles where could she be?" The Slayer felt panic rapidly engulf her senses. "You’re sure she wasn’t in with the other . . .bodies?"
"I swear to you Buffy, I searched high and low for her. There was no sign of her. But I’m afraid someone or more likely something has got her. If she had escaped, she would have come to me, so I fear that she’s being held captive somewhere."
"Why would someone want her? And why would they kill an entire coven to get her?"
"She’s very powerful, Buffy, and very vulnerable right now. Her energies and power could have attracted any number of demons or even sorcerers. I’m starting to research and I have calls into some of my contacts to see if they’ve heard anything recently."
"Giles, I need to be there, to help. Please. The more help you have the better."
"I agree. I’ll wire you the funds for airfare right away. Will it just be yourself coming?"
"Do you seriously think I could get out of here by myself once everyone finds out what’s going on?"
"Right. Quite so. I’ll be expecting you, Dawn, Xander and Anya then?"
"I doubt Anya will need an airline ticket to get there, Giles, or have you forgotten her new status?"
"Of course. Quite silly of me. Call the airline, find out the flight information and cost and I will wire the money immediately. The faster we find Willow the better."
Buffy was shaken out of her daze as Xander called her name, waving his hand in front of her blank stare.
"Earth to Buffster. Come in Buffster."
"Sorry, Xand, just zoning, I guess. What did you say?"
"I said, as much as I hate to admit it, maybe we should give Deadboy a call. The more help we have the better. And he may have contacts in England too. Remember, Scourge of Europe?"
"You might have an idea there," she began.
"Flight 214 to London England will now begin boarding at gate 12. Passengers of flight 214 to London England please begin boarding at gate 12."
All three looked up as their flight was announced over the airport intercom.
"We can give him a call when we get there if Giles hasn’t already called him. Come on. Let’s get on the plane. The faster we get to England, the faster we’ll find Willow." Buffy tried to sound confident, but inside her stomach was twisted in knots. She only prayed to her God as well as Willow’s God and Goddess that they got to her in time.
~Part: 13~
"THIS is your office?!? All of this?" Willow’s voice was hushed and slightly awed as she took in the hotel they were about to enter. "How big of an investigation firm do you run? You must have tons of employees."
"Actually not so many, Red." Gunn replied before Angel could. "Right now, it’s just the boss, myself and Fred. The others are. . . temporarily out of town on assignment."
Angel coughed slightly at Gunn’s little, or not so little, white lie. But what was he supposed to say? Gee, Willow, see, I’m a vampire and had a son that locked me into a metal deathtrap, shoved me into the sea and took off for parts unknown. My former associate is a former Watcher that kidnapped my child and gave him to my enemy. My seer, my connection to the Powers That Be, well, she’s on another plane getting training for her new demon powers she acquired after her visions from same said powers nearly killed her. Oh, and Lorne, the empathic demon who can tell your future if you sing songs for him, well he’s in Vegas right now opening for Tom Jones. Yeah, that would go over REAL well.
Angel opened the door and led Willow into the lobby. Fred sat at the reception desk reading a thick tome that was probably a detailed account of quantum physics. She looked over the top of her glasses as she saw a redhead enter the doors. "Hi. Welcome to Angel Investigations. We help the. . ..Oh! Angel. Gunn. Find a new customer while you were out?"
Angel ushered Willow further into the room, towards Fred, his hand laid lightly on the small of her back. "Fred, this is Willow, from Sunnydale. You met once, but, uh, neither of you were ever really formally introduced."
"Willow? Oh, you were the one who came to tell Angel that the Slayer had died."
Confusion marred the redhead’s face. A frown furrowed her forehead. "Slayer?" She looked up at the dark haired vampire questioningly.
"Uh, Slayer, right." Angel tried to come up with a quick and non-supernatural related explanation to appease the hacker, but was drawing a blank. Fortunately Gunn was faster on his feet than his boss.
"The Slayer, right. Umm, he was a mutual friend of yours. He was killed in an accident. You guys called him the Slayer because he wanted to be a comic and he always wanted to ‘slay’ the crowd. So you came here in person to let Angel know what happened . . . to . . . your. . .friend. . ." His voice trailed off and he hoped he had given her enough of a convincing story to appease her curiosity. Her forehead relaxed and she seemed to be buying it. Gunn released a silent sigh of relief, however Fred was the one looking confused now. Before she could say anything else that would make a sticky situation even more difficult, the vampire decided an explanation was needed.
"Fred, I found Willow at the women’s shelter we took the donation to. She has amnesia." He stressed the word amnesia as if he were talking to a toddler and raised his eyebrows for effect, hoping she would get the hint to keep things low key around the young woman.
"Amnesia?" Understanding dawned on the small woman’s face and her eyes widened. "Ohhhhh, AMNESIA. I got it. So you don’t know who you are, where you came from or what you and your friends do."
"Uh, pretty much." Willow couldn’t understand the brunette’s train of thought, even though everything she had said was correct.
Gunn walked over and placed his hand on the redhead’s shoulder. "Fred, why don’t you help me get Willow here settled while Angel makes some calls to the Hell. . . uh, Sunnydale."
"Oh, sure." Fred hopped from the stool and hurried over to stand on the other side of Willow. "Wow, amnesia, huh? That must be really frightening. Not knowing who you are, where you’re from, if you have any friends or family. . ."
Angel shook his head as Fred’s ramblings faded as they turned the corner at the top of the stairs. He hurried into his office and dialed a number he knew still knew by heart, even though he hadn’t used it in years. The phone rang four times before the answering machine picked up and he heard Buffy’s voice.
"Hi. You’ve reached the Summers’ residence. No one’s available to take your call right now. Please leave a message after the beep. BEEP."
"Buffy, it’s Angel. I’m in LA and I found Willow. She has amnesia, but it appears she’s been here for at least eleven days. What’s going on? Why didn’t you call me and let me know she was missing? Please give me a call back at the office at 323-555-9064 as soon as possible."
He hung up the phone, then dialed another number he had programmed into his internal memory. The Magic Box. He thought Buffy and the others might be there. It was worth a shot. The phone rang three times before he received a recorded message telling him the number had been disconnected. Frowning at the phone, he dug out his address book and dialed again, receiving the same results. He called information only to have them inform him that there was no longer a listing for a Magic Box in Sunnydale.
Angel hung up and tried Giles’ apartment, but once again received the annoying tones before hearing the same message he received when he tried to reach the Magic Box. Disconnected.
He slammed the phone down and ran his hand through his already mussed hair. "What the hell is going on?"
Picking up the phone again, he cringed as he asked information for one, Alexander Harris of Sunnydale. He really hadn’t wanted to talk to the young man, but if there was one thing Angel was sure of, it was that as much as Xander hated the souled vampire, he cared about Willow ten times more than that. He knew the boy would want to know she was safe and sound. An amnesiac, but safe nonetheless.
Upon getting Xander’s answering machine, the vampire left a message similar to that he had left for the Summers’. Where the hell was everyone? What happened to the Magic Box? Where’s Giles? Hearing the soft laughter of the two young women making their way back down to the lobby, Angel thought he knew where they were.
"Probably all out looking for one very lost little witch," he muttered under his breath as he got up to meet Willow and Fred. He walked out into the open space beyond his office.
"So, who’s up for some coffee?"
~Part: 14~
Willow had let Fred and Gunn lead her upstairs. They explained that Angel was working to restore the old hotel, but progress was slow, so while the upper floors were still unlivable, there were rooms available on the first few floors. They got her settled into a cozy little room. It had a double bed with a cream colored comforter. The walls were in a soothing peach and the floor was hard wood, scattered with area and throw rugs of cream, peach and a soft green. It also contained a dresser, chest of drawers, two night stands, and a desk with chair.
She laid her bag of clothes from Gina on the dresser and decided to put them away later. Maybe she wouldn’t need to. If he got a hold of her friends, they might come to take her home soon. Then there wouldn’t be a need to put anything away at all. She turned her attention to the small chatterbox behind her, zoning back to the present conversation.
"I’m sorry, Fred. What were you saying?"
"Oh, I was just wondering if you have had any flashes of memory. You said the doctor told you it could come back in flashes or gushing out all at once."
"Well, nothing really, although when Angel told me my name, it did sound kinda familiar, you know? And he had a picture of me at graduation with some friends of mine. None of them looked familiar, but I recognized the writing on the back as mine, even though the only thing I’ve written so far has been my name. I do keep having these dreams, but I think they’re just nightmares. They’re too weird to be real."
Gunn and Fred’s eyes met behind the woman’s back, communicating to each other silently. They’d tell Angel about the dreams. If he could get her to talk about them, maybe they could find out what happened. Usually, too weird for regular people meant normal for the AI team.
"Are you hungry?" Gunn asked. "Cause there’s this place down the street that makes a mean General Tso. We can order if you want."
"Oh, do you like chinese?" Fred asked.
"I don’t know. But I’m willing to give it a shot." The woman chuckled and rubbed her stomach which had started to growl at the mention of food. "I didn’t realize how hungry I was."
"Well, come on. There’s a menu downstairs at the front desk. We’ll go check it out and see if anything leaps out at you." Gunn opened the door and allowed the ladies to walk out ahead of him.
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, the group noticed Angel exiting his office.
"So, who’s up for some coffee?"
"Actually, Angel," Fred began, "Willow’s kind of hungry. We were going to order chinese, but I’ll make some coffee if anyone would like a cup."
"That sounds good." Willow smiled at the brunette, then she paused. It was like she was hearing a recording play in her head. A voice familiar, yet unknown in a conversation with her own voice.
"I feel the need for more sugar than the human body can handle."
"Mochas?"
"Yes, please."
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and Angel noticed.
"Willow? What is it?"
"I think I like mochas."
He smiled at her. "I think you do too. But if I remember we were reluctant to let you have them."
"Why?"
"Too much caffeine. You would bounce off the walls all night long while we would research."
"Research what?"
"Uhh, for your homework. Sometimes I would help you and Buffy research for, umm, papers you had to write. You know, just looking for references to what you needed, that kind of stuff."
"Oh, ok." She turned her attention back to Gunn as her stomach growled again. Grinning, she asked, "So where is that menu you were talking about?"
Heaving an unneeded sigh of relief, Angel relaxed against the back of the couch. That was close. He was going to have to be more careful around Willow. Somehow he didn’t think she was quite in the state of mind to find out exactly what hangs out in Sunnydale at night. . .and that he was one of them.
~Part: 15~
"So, Angel," Willow turned to face her handsome friend. "Did you get a hold of anyone in Sunnydale?"
A frown marred his face. "No. No one was home, but I left messages on everyone’s machines that I could. Hopefully they’ll call back tonight."
"Oh." The redhead moved over to sit next to the vampire on the couch. "So, will you tell me about, . . . well, . . .me? And my friends? Our friends? Pleeeaaaase!"
Angel chuckled at the wide green eyes that looked up at him. Her mouth held a bit of a pout, too. She was giving him a puppydog look. He couldn’t resist it when Fred did it and he couldn’t say no to Willow either. However he was sure that Fred’s was never feigned. The twinkle in the hacker’s eyes let Angel know she was teasing him.
Willow had never been this open with him in all his time in Sunnydale. She always had seemed so shy when around him. This little pixie sitting in front of him had no shyness where he was concerned. She trusted him, and that was evident when she looked at him. He kind of liked it.
"What do you want to know and where would you like to start?"
"What about that picture you have? Who are the people in it?"
Angel grabbed his wallet from his pocket and pulled out the picture again. Unfolding it, he leaned closer to Willow and begain pointing out the individuals, giving her the background on her relationship with each, relating amusing stories, which of course did not involve vampire or other demonic activity. It kind of restricted his storytelling, but he managed to come up with enough to satisfy her initial curiosity and even cause her to laugh a time or two. She had a beautiful laugh, he decided. He hadn’t heard it nearly enough while they lived on the Hellmouth.
He was telling her about the time she had yelled at both he and Giles for taking Buffy for granted, Giles for assuming all her time should be spent, uh, studying, and he for not ever bothering to ask her out for a cup of coffee.
"Oh!! Oh!! She’s the one!!" Willow was bouncing on the couch like a delighted child.
"Buffy? She’s the one that what?" Angel was confused.
Willow smiled proudly at him, as if she had just been awarded a Pulitzer. "She’s the one that wanted to go for mochas with me." It was just a flash of memory. The barest hint, but it was a beginning. "I remember she wanted sugar, and I suggested mochas, and she agreed!"
The vampired smiled at the redhead and gave her a brief hug. "That’s great Willow. It’s a start."
"Tell me more, Angel, please," she begged. "I want to know as much as you can tell me. It seems to be working." She grabbed his hands and squeezed them tightly, her eyes shining and eager for the knowledge she was waiting for him to impart to her. "I want to know everything that my friends and I ever did in Sunnydale."
Angel put his arm around the witch and pulled her close to his side. He began weaving edited tales from the Hellmouth, sticking to the basics as much as possible while they waited for her dinner to arrive.
~Part: 16~
Rupert Giles peered through the crowds of the airport, searching for three familiar figures. His hair was mussed, his glasses slightly crooked on his face and his clothes were rumpled. He had been up all night calling in every favor owed to him, trying to reach all of his contacts. His bloodshot eyes narrowed as he saw a tall young man with dark hair. He craned his neck around a couple that had stopped in front of him. Not Xander. Damn. Where the bloody hell were they?
A light tapping on his shoulder caused him to jump. He spun around to find three equally rumpled young people staring tiredly at him. He engulfed the blond in a tight hug, letting her press her face into his sweatered chest. Giles felt a shudder run through her small body as she took a deep steadying breath.
"Anything yet Giles?" S he asked. It came out muffled against his chest, but he had been expecting the question anyway.
"No, I’m afraid not. Anya is back at my house right now manning the phones. She and I spent most of last night getting our questions out to our contacts. Now we’re waiting for them to call back."
Xander frowned. "What about good old fashioned hunting for clues. Did you see anything at the house she was staying in?"
Giles released his slayer to receive a hug from her equally emotional sister. He tucked her under his arm and turned them toward the baggage claim. "I wanted to wait until you got here. We’ve mostly been trying to find out what was capable of taking down a large, powerful coven. Once we know what we’re dealing with, the easier it will be to find them and Willow."
Frustrated, but knowing that the older man was correct, Xander shoved his hands in his pockets and watched the carousel for their luggage. "Is there anyway to track her, you know, magically? A spell or something? A locator spell maybe?"
Dawn looked up at the former librarian. "Yeah, Giles. Can’t you just do some hocus pocus, look into some crystal ball and say, oh, look, there’s Willow. She’s at 579 East Whatever Street."
He gave the young girl a weak smile. "If only it was that easy, Dawn. I do have several calls in to other witches I am acquainted with, as does Anya. We’re waiting for them to call back, which is why she stayed at my house. They will need a personal belonging of Willow’s to do a locator spell, so we will need to go back to the coven’s house to get something from her room. I was in such a panic yesterday that I didn’t think to grab anything. . . unless one of you brought something with you that belongs to her."
Buffy shook her head. "No. I just packed the barest necessities, grabbed Dawn and Xander and headed for the airport. I wasn’t really thinking sentimentality when I was leaving."
"Me either." Xander agreed.
Dawn looked between the adults before her. "Well, actually. . ."
Giles looked down at the teenager still at his side. "What did you bring Dawn?"
She reached into the duffel bag that Xander had retrieved for her from the baggage claim and pulled out a stuffed frog. "I thought if we found her, she might want something, ya know, comforting. And she’s always loved Mr. Ribbit."
The dark haired young man reached out and lightly touched the worn fuzziness of the stuffed animal. He smiled sadly as he remembered winning it for Willow at a carnival. They must have been only nine or ten at the time. He had proudly offered it to his best friend, only to have her squeal in fear and hide behind a laughing Jesse. Eventually she had come around and taken the offered gift, but made it very clear that it was only because he, Xander, was giving it to her. She had kept it with her all these years. He had seen it on her dresser in her parent’s house, on the night stand in her dorm room and then again in the corner chair in her room at Buffy’s.
"Good thinkin’ Dawnie" he whispered in a choked voice. He dropped his hand and turned his back to them, making a show of looking for the rest of their bags. He quickly blinked his eyes, trying to fight back the tears that had started to fill them.
"Yes, well, this will definitely make things easier." Giles lightly fingered the stuffed frog as well before allowing the teen to place it back in her bag.
"I still want to check out the house, Giles." Buffy looked up at her mentor determinedly. "Maybe I can hunt around, come up with some clues as to what we’re dealing with. I know you said you were pretty wigged when you were there, so maybe there’s something you missed."
"I suppose it couldn’t hurt, although the police might still be there. I gave them my statement yesterday, but I’m sure they’re trying to gather evidence at the scene. They’re looking for Willow as well. I gave them a picture of her and it’s being faxed to all law enforcement agencies around the area. If you go to the house, just be careful."
"Don’t worry Giles. I can avoid the police, no prob. Xand, is that all the bags?"
The young man lifted a particularly heavy bag with a grunt. "Yeah, Buff. This is it. Barest necessities? What the hell did you pack in here? Your entire closet?" He set it down with a dull thud, rubbing his strained shoulder.
The blond easily picked it up and jerked her head, indicating they should get going. "I wasn’t sure what the weather would be like, so I brought several different kinds of clothes. Trust me Xander, this is nowhere near my entire closet." She swung the offending suitcase lightly, as if it weighed no more than a feather.
Xander brought up the rear of the group grumbling, "Stupid slayer strength."
~Part: 17~
Angel sat in his suite of rooms deep in thought. It was almost dawn and they still hadn’t heard back from Sunnydale. He and Willow had stayed up all night talking. Well, mostly he answered the questions she had grilled him with. She had finally started to nod off against his shoulder as he told her a lengthy and slightly altered tale about her graduation. She hadn’t understood her remark on the back of his picture about the school still standing. He explained there was a gas leak and the building had exploded during the ceremony.
As her eyes had drooped closed he suggested saving the rest for the next day, well, later in the day anyway. She agreed with a sleepy smile, interrupted only by a large yawn. Angel walked Willow to her door and assured the woman if she needed anything his suite was just across the hall and down a little. The little redhead smiled her thanks and proceeded to hug the vampire goodnight before disappearing into her room.
Now sitting on his couch in his black satin pajama bottoms he brooded. Willow hadn’t had any other flashes of memory over the night. He wanted to question her about the dreams she told Fred and Gunn she had been experiencing, but he could never get a question in between all of hers. Later today he would ask her to tell him what she could remember of them.
A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Despite the fact that his friend had no recollection of their past relationship, they had spent a very pleasant evening together. He and Willow had never really sat down and had a heart to heart in his Sunnydale days. Granted most of the night had been spent reliving the past, the PG nonviolent and non-demonic version, but he had to admit to himself that it was the most enjoyable night he could recall having in a very long time.
They had laughed a lot. Willow had teased him quite a bit. And he had loved every minute of it. Willow wasn’t the same shy hacker he knew from three years ago. She had grown up to be a very beautiful young woman both inside and out. He hoped that when her memories returned they would be able to maintain their new and improved friendship, once she remembered who and what he was.
He had just risen from the couch and was ready to make his way to his bedroom when he heard it. The scream sent chills down his spine. It was filled with terror and desperation. He took off out of his suite and ran the short distance to Willow’s room. The door slammed back on its hinges as he burst in, gameface on. His eyes came to rest on the redhead thrashing among the sheets on her bed. Her hair damp, the covers tangled around her body, trapping her as effectively as any restraints would have. Her eyes were closed, she was dreaming. Another high pitched scream startled him out of his stupor as he quickly made his way to the bed.
He sat on the edge and reached down to lightly shake the terrified woman awake while forcing his features back to normal.
"Willow! Willow!! Come on sweetie, wake up. It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream Willow. Wake up sweetie, please."
Willow felt the terror recede as the soothing voice penetrated her nightmare, forcing the black cloud to retreat, the robed figures to fade. She opened glazed eyes, blinking at the light from the hallway, to look up at her savior.
"Angel?" She whispered softly.
"It’s OK Willow. It was only a dream. You’re OK now." He lightly brushed her tousled hair from her face and pulled her up into a reassuring hug. He rubbed gentle circles on her back with his hand as he cuddled her shaking body to his. "Why don’t you tell me about it?"
Her arms wrapped around his waist in a surprisingly strong grip as she buried her face in his bare chest. "It’s just a dream. You said so yourself."
"Sometimes it helps to talk about them. Makes them go away," he offered.
"It’s just so weird, but really scary too, ya know?" She pulled back from his chest to look up at him.
"Talk to me Willow, please." He asked gently, letting his hand stroke her hair in a soothing manner.
The trembling redhead laid her cheek against his shoulder and slowly began to recount her nightmare. "See, I’m in this dark stone room and it’s cold, and oh, did I mention dark? . . ."
~Part: 18~
"Have you found her?"
"Not yet, Master. We are tracking her magical signature, but she teleported quite a distance. We believe she escaped overseas, perhaps back to America."
"I want her found NOW!!!" The voice roared at his underling. "I need her to complete the ceremony. If she is not found within the next three days the time will have passed and it will be too late."
"Perhaps another witch, Master," the creature suggested.
"NO! She is the one I want. Her power is incredible. I could feel it surging through me during the ceremony. My little red witch is quite addictive. I will have her and only her. Bring her to me or suffer the consequences. Now leave and don’t come back without her."
The minion backed out of the chamber, bowing and begging forgiveness until he was at the door. Then he spun and ran for his life. The Master was quite serious in his threats. If they couldn’t find Willow Rosenberg and bring her for sacrifice, there would be hell to pay.
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