END OF INNOCENCE (12/?)
Xander sat at Giles' table, his head in his hands. It had been a day
since
his fears had been confirmed. Willow was dead. She was a vampire, and
a
beautiful one at that. He had never seen her so happy, so full of life,
as
she was when she was dead. It was ironic in many ways. He sighed, looking
at
the former watcher as the older man entered the room. This was going
to be
the most difficult thing he had ever done, but he had promised Willow
that he
could. He moved his eyes away from Giles, thinking back to the night
before.
He had sat with Willow on his front lawn for hours, just talking softly
about
so many different things. She made death sound so pleasant, speaking
in her
mesmerizing voice about the power and control she felt, the lack of
fear and
the thrill of hunting. She had described Percy's death to him, leaving
no
details out. He had found it disturbing yet he not been unable to imagine
the
scene perfectly.
He had almost been able to hear the screams and taste the blood based
entirely on her descriptions. He had found himself wishing he had seen
it,
had taken part in her first kill. A part of him kept screaming that
this was
wrong, that he should hate her for what she had become. But, another
part of
him, a darker part he had never completely acknowledged, wanted nothing
more
than to go with her, to become what she was and feel that control and
power.
No more weakness, no more feeling unwanted and unneeded. Willow wanted
him.
She had made sure he understood that before she had left. Her kiss
still
burning on his lips, the mark on his tongue from her bite. She had
promised
that she would be back and that he would be hers. He couldn't wait.
"Xander, have you heard from Willow? I seem to be getting her machine
the
past few days," Giles said, frowning.
Xander looked up, looking guilty as he faced Giles. "Um, actually, there
is
something we need to talk about."
"What is it?" the watcher asked, feeling a tremor of fear rush over
his body
at the look in Xander's eyes. He sat down, knowing that he needed to
sit to
hear whatever Xander was going to say.
"You need to leave Sunnydale," Xander said, getting straight to the
point.
"Excuse me?" Giles looked at the teen, frowning.
"You have three days to leave. After that," Xander shrugged.
"Why?"
"Willow," Xander began, taking a deep breath. "she's a vampire."
"No," Giles said, his face falling as he shook his head in denial.
"Giles, she's happy," Xander said, hating having to see the man that
had been
a father to them look so broken. "She wanted this. Begged for it. She's
not
evil, not completely. There's some of our Willow there still. She asked
me to
ask you to leave, to get away so she doesn't have to kill you."
"I appreciate that," Giles said, his tone snapping. He looked at Xander,
having to know, "Was it Spike? Did he do this to her?"
"Yeah," Xander confirmed. Seeing the look in Giles' eyes, he hastened
to add,
"She went to him. Asked him to turn her. Giles, she's going after the
initiative and Buffy."
"We can't let her do this," Giles said, looking at Xander in horror
as he
realized the boy had accepted this and was not fighting for Willow's
soul.
"Yes, we can," Xander said, his tone warning. "You can leave town and
live,
or you can stay and die."
"No," Giles said. "There must be another way."
"Giles, do you have any idea what Buffy has become?" Xander asked quietly.
"It's true that I haven't seen her very much recently, but I know my
slayer,"
Giles said.
"Why don't you let me tell you about the great and wonderful Buffy,"
Xander
said, saying her name in disgust. "Then we'll see if you want to die
for what
she has become."
"Nothing you tell me will convince me that we should allow Willow to
remain
without her soul or to act out this plot of revenge," Giles said.
"Don't be so sure about that," Xander said, having heard everything
from
Willow, including the threats against him and Giles from Buffy. He
rubbed his
temples, feeling a headache coming on as he began to fill Giles in
on the
events of the past few months.