Angel stirred the stew bubbling on the stove. "Dinner's almost ready," he called.

"It smells delish," Cordy said as she sniffed the fragrant air.  She kissed Angel on his cheek.  "Yum."

"Why thank you," he said slyly.

Willow and Spike watched the flirtation between Angel and Cordelia. It was slightly uncomfortable to watch two people who cared about each other so much when that feeling had been lost in your life for the last eighty years.  Willow averted her eyes and sat down at the kitchen table.

Spike followed her movements with his eyes.  He wanted to have a closer relationship with the red head if she would allow it.  He was overjoyed that she allowed physical contact between them now.  He rested a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze.

She glanced up at the touch on her shoulder and lifted the corner of her mouth in a crooked grin.  "Someone said something about dinner?" she asked.

Angel and Cordy broke apart and smiled at them. "Yeah," Angel said as he began dishing out dinner. "After dinner I'll head out to the monastery and pick up the books."

"Oh, goodie," Spike mumbled as he pulled a container of blood from the fridge.
 

****

Willow sat on the floor reading one of the many volumes Angel borrowed from the monks.  Spike sat on the couch behind her braiding her hair.  Cordelia had bought some metallic gold and silver ribbons he wove into her hair.

Cordy snuggled into her lover as she watched the blonde vampire section the long strands of red hair. Her dark eyes caught the movement of Willow's hand by her throat.  "Willow," she said, breaking the silence of the room.

"Yes?" she answered.  Her gaze focused on the cuddly couple on the love seat.

"What happened?" she asked rubbing her own neck.  "If you don't mind my asking," she added hastily.

Willow felt Spike pause a moment and her hand crept up to rub the puckered tissue around her neck.  She did mind Cordy asking, but she knew it was time to reveal the secret she'd kept buried.  She'd remained quiet for so long the others thought she wasn't going to speak.  "Aponix liked pain," she said quietly.  "He got off on it."

"Sick bastard," Spike mumbled as he fastened one of her braids.

"You have no idea," she replied.  She closed her eyes as she dredged up forgotten memories.  "He especially had a thing for knives."

*~*~*~*~*

She huddled in a corner of her cell.  She was cold; she was hungry; and she was afraid.  What little light she was able to see from the narrow window high on the prison wall allowed her to count the passage of time. It had been a week since Tara's betrayal.  A week since Aponix took her away.  A week since her friends parished in a fiery explosion.

He had left her alone during this time.  Meager rations were pushed through a slot under the door. Her first instinct was to ignore the food, but she quickly rationalized that would not help her and only give him pleasure.

A sound outside the door caused her to freeze.  She had finished gnawing at the crust of bread only a couple of hours ago so she knew it wasn't feeding time at the zoo yet.  She blinked in pain as outside light poured into her oubliette.

"Oh, good.  You're still alive," a familiar chilling voice sneered from behind the light.

She tried to push her molecules in-between the molecules of the stone wall behind her.  She heard him inhale deeply.  He sighed in ecstasy.  Slowly, he closed the heavy door behind him.

Her quick green eyes followed his shadowy figure as he walked around the small room.  He paused occasionally to light a torch on the wall until the room glowed softly.  He stood above her.  What she could only call a smirk curled his lips.  His long scaly finger captured a lock of her stringy dirty hair.  "You are such a tease," he whispered.  At her small whimper he chuckled.  In a quick movement that belied his massive size, Aponix wrapped his fingers around her throat and lifted her off the ground.

She barely had time to register the change of her position when he had her pressed against the wall.  "I do so love humans," he purred as he licked her face. "Do you know why?" he asked.

"No," she whimpered as she felt one of his talons pierce her skin.

"Because humans have so many lovely pain receptors," he sighed.  "There is such a thin line between pleasure and pain, don't you think?"

While she could not move her limbs, Willow could still feel the coldness of the wall and she shivered as his hand brushed her bare skin.

"Admit it.  Haven't you ever had a toothache?  It hurt to bite down, but you did it anyway," he sighed.

Tears filled her eyes as terror filled her heart.  She could feel the cold touch of metal against her back. Pain exploded through her brain as the honed edge slipped easily through her flesh.  Aponix paused as the pain flooded through his connection to her central nervous system.  In a flare of artistic inspiration, he traced the delicate lines of her ribs with the blade.  Blood welled and spilled.  The red glared in sharp contrast to her stark white skin.

Each cut added another wave of pain until Willow only felt a tsunami of pain coursing through her body.  Her screams reverberated against the stone walls.  Her voice grew horse as her throat finally refused emit any further sound.  A small portion of her brain registered that he stopped cutting her and shuttered against her.  She collapsed into a quivering mass on the floor as he released his hold on her.

*~*~*~*~*

 "Oh, my God," Cordy whispered through her hands.

"God had nothing to do with it," Willow whispered. Amazingly, her eyes remained dry with the horrid telling.

"But how?" Angel asked.

She shrugged.  "He tapped into my nervous system or something.  He could paralyze me, yet allow all sensations to be felt."

Spike stroked a finger against her cheek.  "Oh, my pet."  He was surprised when he felt her lean into his touch.

"He left me alone to heal before he'd come back and do it again," she said quietly.

"How long?" Angel forced himself to ask.

"Difficult to tell.  Sometimes a week; sometimes a month.  After a while days seemed to run together and I lost track."

"Buy why did he kill you?" Cordy asked.

A smile graced her stoic face.  "In the last year, I learned to not be there when he was."

"How's that, pet?" Spike asked.

"My body was there and he made use of that, but I learned to shut my mind down.  Mentally I took myself somewhere else.  I kept remembering that song.  "I haven't seen Barbados so I must get out of this'," she replied with a distant look on her face.

"That must have pissed him off," the shocked brunette commented.

"I guess it did.  I was present enough that I knew what he did to me, but I just couldn't feel anything. Almost like I was outside myself."

*~*~*~*~*

The cell door banged open and she watched him enter the room.  It was the fifth time that week he'd come to her.  Her wounds had barely had time to clot from his last visit.

He slammed her against the wall.  "I grow tired of this, bitch," he spat in her face.

Rock and mortar ground into her wounds as she bit back a moan of pain.  She could not give him the satisfaction.  Deliberately, she stepped outside herself.  She watched as he drew his favorite blade across her breast.  She could see the blood bead along the cut and finally spill over her pale skin.

Aponix growled at her catatonic response.  "If you won't give me what I want, I have no use for you," he stated firmly.

Her dull eyes continued to stare straight ahead, even as he slid the knife across her exposed throat.

 *~*~*~*~*

 "The next thing I remember was Spike looking down at me on the river bank."

*~*~*~*~*

Part 15

Spike watched the gentle rise and fall of Willow's chest as she slept next to him.   In sleep her face retained the look of innocence he used to associate with her existence.  Sleep was the only place he could find the girl of the past.  When she was awake there was only the hard edge life had created of her.  He cared for both sides of her, but wished the girl she used to be would show her face more often.  The red head turned onto her side as she slept.  His eyes looked to the vibrant tattoo on her back.  The raised scars now had significance behind them.

He'd always know the scars came from somewhere, but he tried not to think about it too much.  When he'd first found her in the river, he'd recognized her face right away; however, the person inside the familiar body was a complete stranger.  Spike had stayed with her out of curiosity at first.  He couldn't understand what would change the cheerful, babbling sprite into a cold, silent husk.  Over time he found a deep love for the strong woman she had become.  She possessed a strength only such an experience would give her.  Spike rested his chin in his hand as he watched her sleep.

*~*~*~*~*

Willow stepped into the pool of light.  She glanced over her shoulder.  "Aponix," she whispered.

"Not quiet, but I could see if he's available if you want," a hauntingly familiar voice laughed from the shadows.

*Buffy?!*

A spotlight brightened the corner.  "In the flesh," the blonde said with a grin.  "So to speak."

Tears burned her eyes.  She blinked rapidly for a minute.  "I've missed you so much," Willow whispered. She took a step closer.

Buffy embarrassed the red head.  "I've always been with you, sweetie."

"I guess I just wasn't ready," Willow sighed into Buffy's blond locks.

The former Slayer stepped back and held the red head at arm's-length.  "Well, I'm here to get you ready."

"To fight Aponix?"

"Oh, yeah.  You're going to kick his ass," she said gleefully.  "Get your sword."

Willow turned on her heel and paused.  "How?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Remember what the Book of Counted Sorrows told you," Buffy instructed.

*Book of Counted Sorrows.  I'm in the Dream plane. 'Dreams are thoughts; thoughts are actions; actions are reality.  In the dream-plane all things are probable.  Be careful what you wish for because you will get it.'*  Closing her eyes, she held her hands in front of her.  In her mind's eye she pictured her sword, visualized the weight of it in her hands.  When her hands moved with a familiar weight in her palms, she opened her eyes.  The silver blade smiled up at her.

"Yeah!  Willow gets an A," Buffy cheered.

She gripped the handle with a relaxed hold.  "But I want one of those little gold stars, too," she said.

"You'll just have to work harder then," Buffy retorted.  "Attack me."

Willow swung her sword in an elegant arch.  "Will I hurt you?" she asked.

A plain katana appeared in Buffy's hand.  "I'm dead, Will.  Not much chance at that."  With those words the two women began sparring.

"So do you really love Spike?" Buffy asked as she danced back from Willow's thrust.

"What?!" she asked startled.

The blonde gave her a scratch on her arm for the lax in concentration.  "Focus, Will."

Willow doubled her efforts in her attacks.  "I don't know," she said as she feinted to the right.  "I guess so."  She swung her sword towards Buffy's unguarded left.

The Slayer barely blocked the move before it cut her arm.  "You guess so?!  You've been with him for the last eighty years.  I would have thought you'd have figured it out by now."

The red head tripped over the log that materialized behind her feet.  "Hey!" she cried as she quickly tucked into a roll.

"Aponix isn't going to play fair and neither am I."

She raised her arm blindly to block the downward slash of her opponent's sword.  "No problem."  She twisted from under the sword's pressure.  She hooked a foot behind Buffy's ankle and jumped to her feet as the blonde fell to her back.

Willow placed the tip of her blade under Buffy's chin.  "There are very few rules in the Gathering.  Playing fair isn't one of them."

Buffy pulled back from the katana's bite.  "Good."

She extended her hand and pulled the Slayer to her feet.  "About Spike," she started.

Buffy wrapped her arm around Willow's shoulders. "Don't worry.  You'll figure it out in your own time. Just remember I've got your back."

*~*~*~*~*

 Willow opened her eyes to a familiar blue gaze. "Spike?" she mumbled.

"The one and only," he grinned.  His face became serious.  "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine."  She followed his gaze to the scratch on her shoulder.  "It wasn't Aponix this time.  Buffy came to me in the dream plane to help me," she replied to his unasked question.

"By hurting you?" he asked.

"By helping me train," she said.  "Fighting on the dream plane is different.  Every thought can have a physical consequence."

Spike brushed a braid behind her ear.  "I've patched up some of those consequences," he mumbled.

She smiled up at him.  "Yes, you have.  And I thank you for it."  Tentatively, she brushed her fingers along his strong jaw.

He closed his eyes at her hesitant touch.  It was the first time she had purposely touched him and he relished the contact.

"I think I'm ready for him."

He opened his eyes.  "Are you sure?"

She nodded.  "I know what I have to do."

*~*~*~*~*

Part 16

"I want to be inside the circle," Spike repeated.

"You can't.  If you are inside the circle, Aponix can pull you into the Dreamscape and use you against me," Willow whispered.  "I can't have that worry."

He cupped her face in his hands.  "I can take care of myself," he whispered.

She smiled at him.  "I know you can take care of yourself, but I need to do this.  I need to face Aponix by myself.  Please understand."

Spike stroked her smooth cheek with his thumb.  "I do understand."  He released her and took a step back. "But I don't have to like it," he warned.

"Noted."

Cordy watched the two of them interact.  They had grown stronger in the past few weeks.  Willow had begun to open up and allow them into her life.  She smiled at their open bickering.

Angel handed a bowl of crushed herbs and plants to Cordy.  He paged through the book to find the correct passages.  "Are we ready?" he asked.

Spike and Willow nodded in unison.  The red head caught the pillow tossed to her and she stretched out on the floor.  The blonde vampire paced in front of the fireplace; Cordy sprinkled the herb mixture on the floor in a circle around Willow; Angel recited the verse in a forgotten language.  Willow closed her eyes and focused on relaxing.  Slowly the sounds and smells began to fade away.

She found herself in a familiar setting.  She recognized the cold gray walls and the musty air.  She had to push aside the anger and anxity the prison cell brought to her.

"Home sweet home."

She turned to face him.  "Aponix."

He smiled at her.  "So you learned how to enter the Dreamscape.  Do you think that is going to help you?" he asked.

"Only one way to find out."  She called forth her sword.

Aponix chuckled at the blade in her hand.  "I wonder what happens to the Quickening if someone other than an Immortal takes your head," he mused.

"We'll never find out," she tossed back.  Her green eyes darted around the room to take scope of her environment.

He twisted a simitar out of the air.  "Mine's bigger than yours," he teased.

"Got to make up for inadequacies some how, I guess."

He growled a the insult and made jab at her midsection.  He wasn't ready to start the fight, but he wanted to test her reflexes.  It had been a long time since he'd seen her.

Willow never moved a muscle as the sword's point missed her by half an inch.  "Are you going to play with that toothpick or are you going to fight?" she asked.  She needed to see how he handled himself with that thing.  Aponix had been an expert with knives and cutting, but that didn't mean shit when it came to actual sword fights.

Aponix felt his temper rise at her insolence.  The bitch needed to learn her place.  Slowly, the two opponents circled each other.  She kept her blade at a relaxed angle in front of her body.  He rotated his wrist to give the sword a twist here and there.  The dim lighting danced across the metal.    Willow rolled her eyes at his posturing.  *A true swordsman didn't need to flash the blade,* she mused.  They waltzed around each other for what seemed like eons when Aponix finally made his move.

He swung the sword in a high arch to lob her head from her shoulders.  Seeing the shifting of his weight, Willow easily ducked the blade.  She felt the breeze move her hair.  Three of the small braids fell to her feet.  "You cut my hair," she seethed.    Grasping the hilt in her right hand, she pressed her left palm to the floor and kicked her legs straight at his midsection.

Aponix felt the soles of her shoes in his stomach and stumbled back a couple of steps.  Quickly, he steadied himself and began to fight in earnest.  The sound of metal against metal filled the room as they fought. Sparks showered over the two opponents as the blades scraped against each other.  They both fought valiantly for the next ten minutes.

Willow had pushed Aponix away from her.  He paused a moment.  "Wait a minute.  I'm a demon.  I don't have to fight fair," he chuckled.  He waved his hand and Willow felt the stone under her feet vanished.

She felt as if the free fall would never end, but of course it did.  She crashed onto a concrete floor. Air quickly expelled from her lungs.  Every bone in her body felt broken.  Her eyes opened to find Aponix standing above her, his sword a the ready.  The heavy blade began its decent.

*~*~*~*~*

Spike paused in his pacing as he heard Willow gasp and arch up from the floor.  He took a step towards her, but Angel held him back.  "You can't," he whispered.

"Bloody hell!" he growled back.

Cordelia watched her friend twist and turn as she fought a demon on a plane where the rest of them couldn't help her.  It was frustrating to say the least.  A chill ran up her spine.  She pushed herself off the arm chair.  The tall brunette grabbed her sword off the mantel.  "We have company," she said.

Angel turned as the door crashed open.  Three men entered brandishing swords.  The fourth intruder quickly stepped to the side to watch the proceedings. One swordsman quickly engaged Cordy in battle.  He stood a foot taller than she did and outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds.  She used his large bulk to her advantage.  Her delicate katana clashed against his broadsword.

The dark vampire ran to retrieve the swords kept on the wall.  He tossed one to Spike and turned to fight one of the intruders.  Practice with Cordelia was certainly coming in handy.  And this time he didn't have to pull his strikes to avoid injury to the woman he loved.

Spike smiled dangerously as the third swordsman struck out at him.  He thrust his sword at him.  His joy overwhelmed him as the blade slid into the enemy's stomach.

"The head!" Cordy shouted as she ducked a swipe at her head.  "Cut off his fucking head!"

"And spoil my fun?" he asked.

"You've got to protect Willow," Angel reminded him.

Spike grunted and worked to quickly dispatch the annoying flea.  He felt a sharp pain as the sword cut into his chest.  Luckily it wasn't a wooden sword. "Now that wasn't very nice," he said.  With a quick movement he learned from Willow, the blonde vampire cut the tendon in the Immortal's sword arm.  While the blow wouldn't kill him, it left his arm dangling uselessly at his side.  And it hurt like a bitch.  The sword clattered to the floor.  Spike laughed as he made a clean cut through the man's neck.  Like a chicken it took a few moments for the body to realize the head was no longer attached.

A movement out of the corner of his eye drew Spike's attention.  In a flash, he grabbed Ethan Giles by the neck.  Easily he slid into his game face.  "Leave now or the Watcher gets it," he threatened.

Angel's opponent laughed.  "Kill the little flea.  We don't work for him anyway."

"Looks like you're not very important after all," he growled.  With a grunt he twisted the little man's neck and let him drop to the floor.

*~*~*~*~*

Willow twisted from under his attack, but she didn't escape cleanly.  The blade cut into her back and she had to fight back the wave of pain.  In desperation, she visualized the first thing she could think of, a wall of fire.  It flared up between the two of them. Aponix gasped and jumped back.  Willow staggered to her feet and looked for her weapon.

A growl resonated through his chest as he swiped the air with his fist.

An invisible force threw her across the empty warehouse.  She hit a stack of crates and she tumbled to the floor.  "Pull it together," she ordered herself.  "You can do this."

*Remember, I've got your back.*  Buffy's voice echoed through her head.

"My back," she whispered.  A slow grin eased across her face.

*~*~*~*~*

Cordy ducked a wild swing.  She heard a crash and saw the porcelain figurine in pieces on the hearth. "Angel gave that to me for my birthday," she gasped. "Now, I'm really mad."   She struck out with her sword and refused to give purchase to him.  She kept pushing him back.  With every thrust she made contact with his body.  None of the wounds were mortal, but they kept him occupied while she set him up for the kill.

He stumbled back as the Immoral woman pressed forward.  This was definitely not as easy as the Watcher made it out to be.  He should have known better.  Any Immortal who survived eighty years was not going to be easy to kill or she would have been dead a long time ago.

Angel tried to dodge the swings of the broadsword. Unfortunately, it had a much longer reach than his short sword.  "Spike," he called.  "Give me the other sword."

Spike tore his eyes from the writhing Willow and picked the requested weapon from the floor.  "Catch," he said as he tossed the blade.

With a grin, the Immortal blocked the toss.  He failed to realize this left his right side open until he felt the blade bite into his neck.

Cordy felt the sweat slide down her back as she fought the Immortal's larger bulk.  "Great!  Now I'm sweating.  This is silk.  Do you know how hard it is to get sweat stains out of silk?" she demanded.

He stared at her.  The woman was crazy.  No doubt about it in his mind.  *Who the hell worried about laundry when someone was after your head?* he wondered.

She made sure that the other two Immortals were dispatched.  Once she took the Quickening to would be a while before she had the strength to fight again. "This ends now," she muttered.  She made one more advance and watched as the giant tripped over the ottoman.  As his arms flailed to gain his balance, she swung her sword across his neck.

Her chest heaved as she pulled oxygen into her tired lungs.  The familiar energy filled the air.  It seemed to crackle and spark as she felt it enter her body. Her fingers unconsciously released her sword and she fell to her knees as she absorbed the Quickening.

*~*~*~*~*

Willow focused her anger and pain.  *This had better work.*  She felt heat on her back.  Around her she could hear the clashing of swords as if a battle waged around her.  The heat grew and her skin seemed to peel away from her body.  Soon the heat was at her back, no longer on it.  A mystical screech echoed through the warehouse.

Aponix searched for the source of the sound.  His eyes widened as he saw the fiery creature behind the red head.  Wings of flame flapped and the creature soared to the rafters.  A cry of agony sang along his skin. The bird dove towards him.  He tried to remove himself, but his panic caused him to falter.  The flames enveloped him.  It was not a natural fire. Instead of burning his flesh, it seemed to chill him to the bone.

Willow watched as the blazing phoenix engulfed the demon.  As the bird burned, she could feel her strength waning.  Soon she fell against the crates for support.  She could no longer see Aponix within the circle of the phoenix wings.  The mythical bird shrank in size until it disappeared completely.  It was finally over.  With an exhausted sigh, Willow closed her eyes and said a prayer of thanks.

*~*~*~*~*

Part 17

Spike draped the damp cloth across her forehead. "Come on, Willow.  Wake up," he pleaded.

"You said my name," she whispered without opening her eyes.

He brushed his thumb against her soft lips.  "What else am I gonna call you?"  he asked in relief.

Willow opened her eyes and smiled at him.  "I don't know."

"Angel, I am having serious thoughts about moving to Holy ground.  It's going to take a miracle to get the blood out of the carpet," Cordy whined from the living room.

"As long as there aren't too many crosses, I don't care where we live," he replied.

Spike chuckled at the familiar bickering.  "And all's right with the world."

"Doesn't it feel wonderful?" Willow sighed.

He settled down on the bed beside her.  "Yes, it does."

*~*~*~*~*

Willow brushed her hair.  The new short bob was going to take some adjustment.  "I can't believe he cut my hair," she snarled.

"It will grow back," Cordy commented.

"Not fast enough." "Will you stop moving your head?" Spike reprimanded as he tugged on the long brown locks in his hand.

"Sorry," Cordy apologized.  She hoped he would finish soon.  Sitting still for an hour was not her idea of fun, but she wanted her hair braided like Willow had done before her trip to the salon.

Angel chuckled as William the Bloody braided his lover's hair.  "What happened to your tattoo?" he asked Willow.

"You could say it was reborn.  'Thought becomes action; actions become reality'," she quoted.  "Aponix was afraid of fire.  I manifested the tattoo into a live phoenix and filled it with all my anger and pain caused by him.  It attacked him and disappeared."

"Are you going to get another one?" Cordy asked.

"The phoenix took my scars with it, so I don't have anything to hide anymore," Willow said as she traced the area around her neck.  It felt strange to feel only smooth, unblemished skin.  "I don't think I will get another one."

Spike looked at the wistful red head.  "So what are you going to do now?" he asked.

Her gaze met and locked with his.  She knew exactly what he was asking.  "I was thinking of taking a trip.  I kind of miss India," she said.  "Wanna come along?"

"Is Angel a pouf?" he asked.  The two of them laughed at the dark vampire's protest.

THE END!!

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