Part: 11 - 20
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~Part: 11~
Dawn walked into the unusually quiet shop after school, noticing the three people sitting at the table, reading diligently.
"Hey, guys," she called as she walked toward them. "Whatcha researching? Can I help?"
"Oh, well, we could certainly use a little extra help," Giles said with a slight smile. "Why don't you, uh, start looking through here." He handed her a book without looking up.
Dawn took the large, old book and flipped through the pages before scowling. "Giles, this isn't in English," the brunette complained.
"Right, right, sorry about that. Maybe this one," he mumbled, handing her another.
Taking the book she sat with a huff next to Xander. "What are we looking up?" She questioned.
"Demon snake thing," he told her distractedly.
"Cool," Dawn mused.
"Really not," Xander replied, still looking down at the book.
"Should someone go check on Willow?" Anya asked, hoping for a chance to get away from the books for a while.
"Nah, Spike's with her, and not that I'm a big fan of the bleached wonder, but he did actually seem to be taking good care of her," Xander responded.
"What's wrong with Willow?" Dawn asked in alarm.
At that, the other three looked up, no one wanting to explain to the girl what had happened.
"Oh, well, Willow got a little bit hurt today," Xander explained slowly.
"Hurt? What happened? Is sh-she okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, she'll be fine. She's just tired and worn out. She's resting in the back room, but I don't think…" Before Xander could finish, Dawn was up and heading toward the training room, intent on seeing for herself that Willow was alright.
Dawn stopped in the doorway as she saw Spike sitting on the couch with Willow sleeping in his arms. He looked up at the girl, raising a finger to his lips, not wanting her to wake the sleeping redhead. Dawn made her way toward them slowly and frowned at the bruises and cuts marring the witch's face.
"Wh-what happened?" She whispered, her voice catching in her throat.
"Glory," the vampire replied quietly. "Took her to do a spell, but she escaped."
Before either of them had a chance to say anything further, there was a loud crashing sound from the front of the store. Willow shot up, Spike's arms still around her, letting her know he was there. A few seconds later they jumped up next to Dawn as they saw a large snake come slithering into the back room.
"Dawn!" Willow shouted, trying to pull the girl behind her as Spike stepped in front of them both.
Swinging its tail around, the snake knocked over a large cabinet full of weapons, which toppled over onto the vampire, pinning him to the floor. He looked up in horror as he tried to move the heavy object, seeing the snake advance on the two girls.
Dawn let out a scream as the snake stopped in front of them, hissing. It leaned in as Willow pulled the screaming girl further behind her and she saw its eyes glow red as it stared at her. A moment later the glowing stopped and the snake turned, slithering back out the way it came.
Spike finally managed to push the cabinet off of him just as the snake left the building. Giles, Xander and Anya all came running into the back room, looking around frantically. Xander reached out and pulled a now shaking Dawn into his arms, hugging her tightly, trying to reassure her that they were safe.
"Guess we found the snake," Anya said quietly.
"I found the snake! It's heading this way!" Everyone looked up to see Buffy running in through the back door.
"Yeah, you're just about ten seconds too late, Slayer," Spike growled.
"Oh god, it was here? Is everyone alright?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, everyone seems to be fine," Giles told her. "The snake came back here before we could stop it, and…"
"It was back here? It-it knows then that…"
Giles simply nodded.
"I'm going out after it. I have to stop it," she told them, grabbing a few weapons that were scattered on the ground.
"Buffy," Giles began, before she interrupted him.
"Giles, I have to stop it. It's going to Glory and she can't know that…"
Xander reached down, grabbing an axe. "I'm coming with you," he told her. She turned and looked toward Giles, who was now also brandishing a weapon.
"Anya, please take Dawn home and make sure that she and my mom are alright?" Buffy asked quickly, the former demon simply nodding as the Slayer turned and headed out the door, followed by Xander.
"Come on," Anya mumbled, grabbing Dawn's arm and leading her out the door.
Giles followed, stopping in the doorway and turning back to look at Willow who was now leaning her back against Spike's chest, his arms around her, rubbing her arms soothingly.
"Take care of her," Giles told him. "Keep her safe, no matter what."
Spike simply nodded, squeezing the precious girl a little tighter.
~*~
It didn't take long for Buffy to track the snake and kill it. When she was finally sure it was dead, she let out a deep sigh and heaved herself up off of the ground, her mind drifting back to the conversation with the monk.
"The key is energy. It's a portal. It opens the door…"
"The Dagon Sphere?" Buffy questioned, not understanding.
"No," the monk explained. "For centuries it had no form at all. My brethren, its only keepers. Then the abomination found us. We had to hide the key, gave it form, molded it to flesh, made it human and sent it to you…"
"You mean?"
"Willow," he said quietly. "She is the key."
"What? What do you mean? You-you put that in my life?"
"We knew the Slayer would protect," he told her.
"All of our memories? Mine, Xander's, Giles'…"
"We built them," he replied.
"Then un-build them!" Buffy yelled. "This is my life you're…" She paused as the monk began to cough. He wouldn't last much longer.
"You cannot abandon," he told her.
"I didn't ask for this!" She screamed. "I don't even know- what is she?"
"Human," he explained. "Now human and helpless. Please, she's an innocent in this. She needs you."
"Helpless? She's not exactly helpless. I mean, she has power! She's a witch! A-and my friend, I thought, but…"
"Her power is her own, resonant of the key's energy, but she is unaware of the source of her power."
"She's not my best friend?" Buffy asked quietly, tears in her eyes.
"She doesn't know that."
~Part: 12~
"How is she?" Buffy asked Giles softly.
"Shaken up, but otherwise she's alright, under the circumstances," he told her.
"Giles, Glory had her. Right there, and if she had known- Willow would have been…"
"I know, Buffy, but she didn't. Willow is alright."
"For now, yeah, but eventually, Glory is going to figure out that Willow is the key. And then what? I mean, I can barely fight in a hair-pulling contest with this chick. How can I protect her?"
"We'll find a way," he said, trying to reassure her. "You're the Slayer, this is what you do. You-you've saved Willow from evil things before, and…"
"Yeah, but that's the thing, Giles. I didn't. I didn't save her. I only have these fabricated memories of it. Everything we've gone through together? High school, college? Willow has been my best friend for years, except she hasn't."
"I know this is difficult to take in Buffy, but…"
The older man paused as he heard the bell over the front door ring and they both looked up to see Xander and Anya coming into the shop.
"Big bad snake all gone?" Xander asked.
Buffy simply nodded.
"Dawn's at home with your mother," Anya told her. "She's a little freaked out. Of course, who wouldn't be after something like that?" Again Buffy nodded absent-mindedly.
"Willow still here?" Xander asked.
At hearing Willow's name, Buffy snapped out of it and looked up the couple.
"What? Oh, no. Spike took her home to her parent's house, actually. They're out of town and she figured she would have an easier time resting there. He's going to stay with her."
"That really a good idea?" Xander questioned. "I mean, we are talking about Spike here."
"She's safe with him," Buffy said quietly.
"And what about the whole key thing?" Anya questioned.
"It's safe. Giles and I know where it is," Buffy told them.
"You know where the key is?" Xander shouted. "You knew and you didn't tell us? What has all this researching been for then?"
"Why would you not tell us?" Anya asked. "Does Willow know?"
"No! No, she doesn't," Buffy said quickly.
"Buffy, you should have told us," Xander said more quietly, clearly hurt.
"You're right," Buffy said, turning her head to look up toward Giles. "It's time. They need to know."
"Buffy, are you sure?" Giles questioned.
The Slayer nodded. "After everything, Giles, they deserve to know."
"Know what?" Xander asked anxiously.
"There's something you need to know about Willow."
~Part: 13~
"What do you mean, Willow's the key?" Xander said, his tone angry.
"According to the monk," Buffy explained, "they made her and the memories of her."
"No. No! He's wrong. He was lying," Xander shouted, causing the others to jump. "I mean, this is Willow. Been my best friend my whole life. So, if she wasn't really there, then...no. It's not true."
"Xander," Anya started, resting her hand on his arm, but pulling away as he jumped up from his chair, pacing in front of them.
"How can she just not be real? How? It's Willow!"
"She is real," Anya said softly. "She's just sort of...new." Her boyfriend turned and glared at her.
"Xander, I know, it's hard to understand but," Buffy began.
"She's my best friend in the whole world," he whispered, tears in his eyes. "The one that's always been there for me. And now you're telling me she hasn't really been there at all? And everything I remember...it's just made up? And, what- she has no idea?"
Giles shook his head. "She doesn't know, and we think it would be best not to tell her."
"Yeah, right, well, I guess I wouldn't want to find out that I wasn't real either," Xander said bitterly.
"Xander, I know this is hard," Buffy tried to tell him, before he cut her off.
"So, what are we doing then? How do we protect her?" He asked.
"That's what we are still trying to figure out," Buffy replied quietly.
~*~
"I hope they took care of it," Willow called out nervously. She was sitting on her bed, leaning back against several pillows, waiting for Spike who had gone down the hall to grab a few blankets to cover the windows, not wanting to be fried by the sun, should his patient need him when daylight came.
"I'm sure the Slayer made it good and dead," he told her as he came back to the room.
She smiled slightly, relaxing a little just knowing he was there and he was staying.
"Are you comfortable?" He asked for what had to be at least the tenth time.
The redhead nodded and smiled.
"You know, you don't have to stay if you don't want to," she told him, secretly praying that he wouldn't go. "I mean, if you have other places you need to be or- you don't have to stay."
"Yes, I do," he told her, his tone serious as he came and sat down next to her on the bed. "Already let you get hurt twice. Not going to let it happen a third time."
"Well, to be fair, the snake didn't really hurt me so much as scare the living hell out of me," she told him with a small chuckle.
The blonde smiled. "Still, not letting you out of my sight, luv. You're stuck with me, so you'd better get used to it."
"I don't think that will be a problem," she said softly before trying to stifle a yawn. It felt good to have someone around, wanting to take care of her again. She hadn't had that since Oz left and even if it was Spike, it felt good.
"You need to sleep, pet," Spike told her, reluctant to end the conversation but knowing that she needed rest. He wanted so badly to tell her how he really felt about her, how in love with her he was, but every time he could feel the words just ready to spill forth, something would stop him, holding him back.
He stood up and headed toward the door, turning the light off on the way, while the redhead snuggled down into the blankets. Looking up, she saw him walking out and called to him in alarm. "You're leaving?"
"Just the room," he told her. "Let you get some sleep."
"Stay?" She asked, so quietly he almost didn't hear it.
"Are you sure, luv?" He questioned, secretly hoping she would say yes.
The redhead nodded in the dark, knowing the vampire could see her, and both of them smiled. Spike let out a small sigh, more for show than anything else and started to clear off a chair in the corner of the room.
"No," he heard her whisper. "Stay here." He looked over and saw her gesturing to the empty space next to her on the bed. His face broke out into a wide smile and he quickly went over to the bed, kicking his boots off on the way.
"If you insist," he whispered seductively, slipping into the bed next to her and feeling her snuggle up against his body. Wrapping his arms around the witch he gently stroked her hair and watched as she fell asleep, vowing that he would never let anyone hurt her ever again.
~Part: 14~
The next day Willow made her way toward The Magic Box to help with the research. It wasn't until nearly four in the afternoon that she got there, having had the hardest time pulling herself from the bed in the morning.
When she first woke, finding herself entangled in Spike's arms, she thought she was still dreaming. The aches running through out her body, though, quickly told her otherwise. Looking over, she saw that the vampire was still sleeping or appeared to be at least, and she settled back against the pillows, wanting to savor the moment for as long as possible. This was a place she had never expected to find herself, but was more comfortable there than she could have ever imagined.
Finally though, with much protesting from Spike, Willow dragged herself from the bed, showered and made her way toward the shop, agreeing with Spike that she would wait there with everyone until after sunset when he could come by.
Walking up to the shop, Willow was surprised to see Giles outside, drawing symbols on the ground.
"Hey," she greeting him with a smile. "Doing a spell?" In truth, she was a little hurt that he was doing a spell without her. She was, after all, the resident witch.
"Oh, Willow, hello, yes," Giles said, standing up and looking a little flustered. "It's an early warning incantation, so that should we need to, we can hide the key."
"I thought we didn't know what the key was," Willow said, frowning.
"Oh, right, well I just meant, should we actually discover the key a- and then need to hide it," he told her.
"Oh, neat," she responded quietly.
Seeing the dejection in her face, Giles tried to further cover his tracks. "I would have asked you to perform the spell, Willow, but I thought that after yesterday you might not feel up to it."
"Oh, well, I'm feeling much better today," she told him with a forced smile.
"Spike stayed with you last night?" He asked, trying not to notice as she blushed at the question.
"Yep," she told him. "And no more snake sightings. I'm assuming Buffy took care of it?" Giles nodded before Willow headed inside.
~*~
"Hey guys," Willow called as she walked into the shop, seeing Xander and Anya by the register.
"Willow, hey there my very bestest of friends," Xander said awkwardly, walking over and hugging Willow a little too tightly.
"Xander, need to breath," she choked out before he finally released her and gave her a strange smile.
"You make a very pretty girl," Anya said a little too loudly, a forced smile plastered across her face as she walked up to them.
"Uh, thanks Anya," Willow replied slowly, giving her a strange look.
Xander looked toward Anya nervously. "Anya, you wanna help me with that thing?" He asked in a strained tone.
Anya smiled wider and laughed slightly. "Xander needs help with his thing!" She exclaimed before walking away with him.
Willow rolled her eyes. "Really not something I needed to know," she muttered.
Willow heard the front door bell ring and looked back to see Giles walking in along with Buffy.
"Hey Wills, how are you feeling?" Buffy asked her.
"Better," the redhead replied. "Spike was a big help."
"Spike?" Buffy said, scrunching up her face in disgust. "Yeah, I'm sure he was a real big help."
"No, really, Buffy, he was," she responded with a smile.
The Slayer broke out into a smile of her own, recognizing all too well the look on Willow's face and thinking that it had been much too long since she had seen it.
Suddenly her smile fell as she realized, she had never seen it. Not really but still looking up again, she couldn't help but smile at the glowing redhead.
"Something to share?" Buffy asked in a sly, teasing voice as she and Willow made their way over to the round table.
"What do you mean?" Willow asked in alarm.
"You all big with the glowing and the smiling at the mention of a certain vampire?" Buffy explained in a sing-songy voice. "Come on, Will, spill. I want details."
"No details," Willow said quickly before she realized that the Slayer didn't look all that upset. "Well, maybe I like him, a little but it's completely one sided, I'm sure," the redhead conceded.
"Oh, come on, Willow! Have you seen the way the guy looks at you? He's totally head over heels."
Willow shook her head, though she couldn't help but smile at the thought that Spike could ever feel that way about her.
"You're not mad?" She asked in a small voice.
"Mad? Please," Buffy told her. "I mean, not a choice I personally would make. I mean...Spike....yick...but I can see why, and I mean come on, not like I haven't fallen for a vamp of my own."
Willow smiled broadly before lunging over and grabbing the blonde in a tight embrace, whispering a thank you.
~Part: 15~
"This isn't helping!" Xander yelled, startling everyone as he slammed his book shut. Anya, Buffy and Giles looked up at him questioningly.
"This researching is getting us nowhere. We are not going to find any answers in these books, Giles. Glory is out there and we don't even know what she is or why she wants the key. She's going to figure it out eventually and then what? We can't fight her. We can't stop her. Buffy can barely insult her shoe selection without getting a few bones broken, so how are going to protect her? This is Willow! OUR Willow and I know maybe she hasn't really actually so much been our Willow, but I still feel it, you know? She's my best friend, and no matter what my brain knows, my heart refuses to believe anything else. I love her and I am NOT going to let anyone hurt her. Not again." He stood up, slamming his chair against the table, causing everyone to jump.
"Xander, I know it's frustrating and we are doing everything we can, but…" Giles began, before the younger man interrupted him.
"Frustrating? Giles, this is Willow, and all we are doing is sitting around and reading a bunch of dusty old books that tell us nothing, and…"
"Oh dear."
"Oh dear? Giles, oh dear??" Buffy shouted, beginning to panic. "I know you and I know that tone and I know those words and none of that equals anything good."
"What is it?" Xander asked quietly as Giles reread the ancient text to himself. "Giles?"
"Oh dear," the watcher groaned.
"Good lord!" Anya shouted, unable to stand the suspense. "Tell us already!"
"It-it- there appears to be a, uh, prophecy involving the key."
"Willow," Xander whispered with dread.
"Glory? Does it tell us how to stop her?" Buffy asked hopefully.
"Uh, no, actually, there is no mention of Glory at all. This is concerning an ancient demon cult, vicious and ruthless, intent on opening the Hellmouth. Apparently the key is the instrument they need to do that."
"Is there anyone out there that DOESN'T want to find the key and use it for evil?" Xander asked, sarcasm thick in his voice.
"What do these guys have to do with Glory?" Buffy asked, needing more information.
"Nothing, as far as I know," he told her. "From the limited information we have about Glory, I can not see the correlation between her and this cult. They are notorious for operating alone in the demon world. An ancient order, they're known for their patience and a penchant for earthly destruction."
"Great. Adversaries with patience. Anyone miss the days when Spike would come storming in ahead of schedule and blow his whole plan?" Xander quipped.
"When does this happen?" Buffy asked. "Is this what the monks were really trying to hide the key from?"
"I would have to hazard a guess and say yes, though I suppose we have no way of knowing for sure."
"And this prophecy? Does it say that they succeed?"
Giles looked down at the text again, reluctant to answer.
"Giles?!"
"It-it says that they will discover the key on the Hellmouth, and the ritual will take place. That's all."
"Then we need to remove the key from the Hellmouth," Buffy stated, leaving no room for argument with her tone.
"What? Just send her away from the Hellmouth, spoil the prophecy's plans? Can't be that simple. Besides, Willow would never just leave like that. Buffy, she still doesn't even know what she is," Xander said quietly.
"It's a prophecy, Buffy," Giles told her. "You can't hide from it. You of all people should know that."
"I know that a prophecy said I would die, but guess what? I'm still here!" The slayer shouted.
"Yeah, Buff, but technically you did die," Xander said sadly. "Besides, like I said, Willow? Never gonna just leave."
"Well, you could put her in the witness protection program," Anya said, trying to be helpful. "Do-do they take ancient mystical energy things?"
"Yeah, I'm sure she would have no problem changing her entire identity for reasons we can't explain to her. The only way you'd get Will to do that would be to cast a spell and wipe out all her memories," Xander stated sarcastically. "She would never just up and leave Sunnydale like that."
"What did you just say?" Buffy asked, suddenly perking up.
"Huh? She'd never leave…"
"No-no, the-the spell part. Could we do that?" She asked.
"Buffy! You can't be serious! You want to do some spell and take away her memories? You'd be wiping out her entire life. All the years that…"
Xander stopped as he realized what he was saying. It sounded horrible and wrong, but then all those memories, those years, those were created by someone...not real, so how much would it really matter if they took them away or changed them?
"No. It still seems wrong," he said decidedly.
Buffy looked toward Giles.
"Well, I suppose it would be possible, though I think that we might have to actually bind her power as well. Otherwise she would be at blind risk against anyone wanting to tap into her magic."
"You're talking about sending her away!" Xander shouted. "Away from the people who love her and who can protect her!"
"We can't, Xander," Buffy said sadly. "That's the problem. I wish we could, believe me, and if I thought there was any other way...but there isn't. I'm afraid we can't protect her." She looked away from her friend's fallen face. "Giles, how long do you think it would take for you to find this spell and cast it?
"I know where to look, so a day, maybe less," he told her, sounding unsure of the idea.
"Then do it," Buffy said, her voice hard and her face a mask, hiding the pain she felt.
"What about Spike?" Xander asked. He had seen how Willow and Spike had been together and heard what Willow told Buffy. "There is no way he is going to go for this. The second she's left town, he'll be out looking for her."
"Then we don't tell him," Buffy said, as if it were really that simple.
"You want us to lie? And tell him what?" Xander questioned. "Oh, our old pal Willow? Yeah, she just sort of went poof! And disappeared. Don't feel too bad though, turns out she never really existed in the first place!" He yelled, his voice thick with bitter sarcasm.
"Xander, it's Spike. Why all of the sudden fuzzy feelings?" Buffy asked.
"I just-I feel bad for the guy, you know? I mean, he just realized and they just and now…"
"I know, Xander, but we have to do this, for Willow. It's the best way. It's the ONLY way. Spike will- he'll get over it."
"Yeah," Xander muttered quietly as they all looked away from one another, hoping they were right and hoping that this was really the best thing to do.
~Part: 16~
Willow was walking home, alone, at night. Not the smartest thing, she knew, but she also knew that, should she have to, she could protect herself. She had magic, even if she was weak, and she could already see her house up ahead.
It was dark and empty looking, just as she always remembered it being and she sighed, wishing that she had just gone back to the dorms. A little too much noise and people would have been better than none at all.
"Luv?"
Willow jumped, hearing the voice behind her, just before hands rested on her sides in an attempt to reassure her that she was safe. Spike pulled the redhead against him, whispering into her ear.
"You shouldn't be walking out here alone at this time of night," he chided, a slight frown on his lips. "It isn't safe what with Glory and everything…"
"I'm fine, Spike," she told him, secretly happy and relieved that he was there.
Seeing her turn in his grasp, the vampire reluctantly let go of her waist and watched her carefully.
"You have no idea what this woman or whatever she is, is capable of," he told her.
"God," she said softly.
"What?"
"I-I think she's a god. From the way her minions were talking, a-and with all of that strength I-I think she's a god."
Spike's eyes widened at the sheer thought of that. She had been at the mercy of a god and lived. That thought sent chills up and down the vampire's spine. The thought of what could have happened, what almost did...and he would have never had the chance to tell her…
"Willow, there's something I need to tell you," he said, a serious intensity in his voice.
The redhead looked up at him curiously and he took a deep, unneeded breath before speaking. "Willow, the thing is that I-I…"
Before Spike had a chance to say anything further, he felt himself pushed backwards, losing the grip on Willow's hips and stumbling. Looking up in surprise, his eyes widened and he felt his human mask fall away as he saw a man, dressed as a knight, grab onto Willow, yanking her roughly into a painful hold.
"The link must be severed," the man growled, pulling a knife out and holding it to Willow's throat.
"Spike!" The witch cried out, terror evident in her voice.
In one long stride, Spike reached them, immediately grabbing a hold of the hand holding the knife. Wrenching the hand back, Spike used his free arm to connect a solid punch with the attacker's jaw.
Willow felt the man's grip slipping and tried to pull away, screaming as she saw Spike double over, grabbing his head. Human. He was human, which meant that Spike was essentially powerless against him.
Again, the redhead felt herself yanked backwards into a painfully tight hold just before the knife was raised to her neck.
"The key is the link. The link must be severed. Such is the will of god," the man mumbled as Willow struggled to free herself. Closing her eyes, the witch quickly centered herself before shouting out, "Release!"
She stumbled forward as the man fell back, losing his hold on her. Hearing her shout a few words in Latin, the man found that he was unable to move at all and looked up menacingly at her.
"Who are you? Are you working for Glory?" She asked, her voice low and threatening. Her eyes widened slightly at the man laughed bitterly.
"You think we would align ourselves with the beast? You must be mad," he told her.
After a moment of silence, she tried again. "Tell me who you are and who sent you here or you'll die," she told him, her voice steady and calm.
"Kill me. It will matter not. More will come. I am but one soldier in a vast arm. They will never stop until the key is destroyed."
"The key? You know where the key is?" She asked, feeling Spike step up behind her. "Tell me!"
The man looked at her strangely before simply repeating, "The key is the link. The link must be severed. Such is the will of god."
"Yeah, I think we got that part, mate," Spike told him. "Where is the bloody key?"
The man continued to glare at Willow. "Glory can NOT find you," he told her. "She can not use the key."
Willow looked at him in confusion. "I don't understand. I thought…"
"The key is the link," he began again. "The link must be severed. Such is…"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. The will of god." Spike yelled in frustration. "I don't think we're getting anything more out of this guy."
Willow nodded and turned to walk away.
"Kill me and let legions follow!" The man called after her. "If you do not kill me, I will destroy you."
Willow turned around, looking at him with confusion before shrugging. "Then I guess I'll just have to send you somewhere else," she told him before mumbling a few words and clapping her hands together.
Spike blinked several times, surprised to see that the man had disappeared. "Red? What did you just do?"
"Little teleportation spell," she said with a smile just before her head began to feel dizzy and light.
"Thought you weren't supposed to do heavy magic for a while," the blonde said in a disapproving tone.
"I'm fine, Spike," she replied, suddenly feeling her knees give out. Before she hit the ground, Spike reached out and scooped her up, carrying her the rest of the of the way to her house.
Once they were inside, Spike brought Willow up to her room and set her down gently on the bed.
"I should probably call Buffy and tell her about what happened," Willow told him, reaching for the phone.
Spike reached out, grabbing her arm to stop her. "You can tell her tomorrow, luv," he replied. "You're weak and tired. Rest now."
Leaning back against a pile of pillows, she smiled up at him as he sat beside her.
"Are you staying?" She asked timidly.
The blonde vampire nodded. "If it's alright with you," he told her.
"You never finished," she said as she fought to stifle a yawn. Spike gave her a questioning look. "You were saying something, before that, um, knight guy came rushing in."
"Oh, right, that," he said, looking a little embarrassed. "Well, mood's a little bit ruined now." The redhead frowned a little bit and Spike found that he couldn't deny her silent request to tell her, correct mood or not.
"I-I don't exactly remember where I was," he told her sheepishly and saw the redhead smile.
"I think the last thing you said was, `the thing is.' Didn't get much further."
"Right. The thing is, Willow. I…" The vampire paused, having no idea what to say from there.
"Got that part," Willow said with a soft smile. "Don't stop," she added in a whisper.
"Well, I…" he stumbled over his words, grumbling at himself. He was the Big Bad! Not some poetic poof who couldn't speak in front of women. "Everything that has been happening, with you and Glory, I…it's just made me realize a few things. And well, the thing is, actually…IthinkIloveyou." The last part was said so fast Willow wasn't entirely sure she had understood him.
"You-you what?" She questioned, trying to make out the words.
Spike let out a deep sigh and rolled his eyes at his own behavior. "I love you, Willow. Or-or I think I could. I mean, I think I'm falling for…oh, bloody hell! Could I be any more pathetic?"
"You're the furthest thing from pathetic, Spike," Willow said in a soft, quiet voice. The blonde looked up at her, his eyes full of hope. "I think-I think that maybe I could be falling in love with you, too," she whispered, surprised to hear the words coming from her own mouth.
The next moment, she found herself encircled in the vampires arms, his lips connecting with hers in what began as a soft, tender kiss, but was quickly growing more fevered and passionate. She felt him push her gently down into the bed as he moved over her body, covering hers with his own. A cool hand came up to caress her cheek as he moved to kiss his way down her neck and Willow ran one of her hands up to his hair, running her fingers through the surprisingly soft strands.
Feeling Spike unbuttoning her shirt, the witch arched up slightly, running her hands up and down his arms. His fingers worked frantically and a moment later the shirt was tossed to the floor. Spike resumed kissing a trail down her neck, to her chest, her stomach and then back up again, delighting in the way the redhead writhed beneath him.
When he reached her lips again, he claimed them in a soul-searing kiss, and the thoughts of the last few days, the fears, flooded his mind. He had come so close to losing her, so close to missing his chance and never being able to hold her, touch her, feel her. He knew, now that he had her, he would never be able to let the redhead go.
~Part: 17~
"This is it?" Buffy asked, looking from the book to Giles, who nodded somberly. "And it will work, definitely?" Again, he simply nodded.
"Giles, why all with the quiet? You're usually so much more verbal and all about spreading the information," Xander said, sounding nervous as he tried to make a joke.
"It-it is the correct spell. I've looked it over again and again," Giles told them.
"It will remove her current memories and replace them?" Buffy asked.
Giles nodded.
"What kind of memories are we giving her? Happy, fluffy ones, right? No Hellmouthy memories whatsoever?" Xander asked.
"Uh, right. Happy family, good childhood, caring friends," Giles told them.
"Where are you sending her?" Anya asked.
"East coast," Giles told them. "I've been in touch with the council and though I didn't explain to them exactly what was going on, I gave them enough information, and they have taken care of all the paperwork and identification that Willow will need."
"Good. That's good," Buffy said, looking distracted by thought.
"Buff?" Xander questioned.
"There aren't any side effects, right? With the spell, I mean. It won't-it won't hurt her at all, right?" She asked.
"No, Buffy, it won't hurt her," Giles replied.
"Good. That's good, because we're doing this to help her and to keep her safe and alive and happy and-and not to hurt her, or…"
"It's alright, Buffy," the watcher said gently as he moved to stand beside her, pulling her into a hug. The slayer was crying softly now as the reality of what they were doing was finally setting in. "You're doing the right thing. It's the best way to protect Willow," he told her. "It's the right thing."
~*~
Willow smiled contently as she snuggled closer to the cool body next to her. Spike had his arms wrapped tightly around her and he was nuzzling her neck, his tongue occasionally lapping at the bite mark he had made a few minutes earlier.
"You claimed me," she whispered. It was a statement, not a question.
"Sorry, pet," he said, though he didn't sound the least bit apologetic. "Couldn't help myself."
Willow nodded slightly, a smile spread wide across her face. "Your chip didn't go off."
"Didn't want to hurt you," he explained before suddenly propping himself up on an elbow and looking down at her in concern. "I didn't, did I? Hurt you?"
Willow shook her head. "No pain that I was aware of," she told him. "Only lots of good feelings."
He was amazed that after the last few hours of love making, she could still blush at those simple words.
"I belong to you now," she whispered, liking the idea of that.
"You do," he confirmed, "forever. You'll always be mine and I'll love you for eternity."
Those were the last words she heard before drifting off to sleep, a content smile on her face and her heart so full it felt like it might burst.
~Part: 18~
"What if she wakes up?" Xander asked as they walked quietly up to the house.
"She won't. Giles said she'll be out for at least a day," Buffy assured him.
"And when she wakes up, it will be like we never existed," Xander said, his voice catching in his throat.
"It's better this way," Buffy told him, wishing she herself fully believed it.
"I know. It's just-I never even got to say good-bye, you know?" Buffy nodded. She did know. This was her best friend, and here she was, about to rip her from her home and everything she knew and loved, and send her off to a new life in a new place, where no one would be able to fully protect her.
Xander unlocked the door with the spare key he had been given years ago and they quietly entered the house. Immediately, Buffy's senses perked up. Vampire. She had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly which vampire was there. This was going to make things a lot more difficult.
"Spike is here," she whispered to Xander.
"What? Spike? Where?"
"Willow's room, I would guess," she told him, rolling her eyes.
"Why would he be in her bedroom?" He asked in outrage. Buffy gave him a pointed look and he decided to drop it. He knew something had been happening between his best friend and the bleached blonde, but still this was Willow and the thought of her, with Spike in her bedroom…
When they reached Willow's room, Buffy cracked the door open. Peaking inside, her fears were confirmed. Spike was lying in bed with Willow, his arms wrapped tightly around her. For a moment, she felt a surge of happiness at the thought that he and Willow were finally together, but then she immediately remembered why she was there and what they had done. The spell that Giles had cast just a little while ago would have taken effect by now, and Willow, their Willow, for all intents and purposes, was gone now.
The slayer stood in the hallway for a few moments, trying to decide on the best course of action. Spike was a pretty heavy sleeper, so it was possible that she could get Willow out of the bed and out of the room without him noticing, but it didn't seem all that likely.
"You try to GENTLY get Spike to turn over and I'll pull Willow out of the bed," she told Xander, who simply nodded.
Buffy took a deep breath before slipping through the doorway, into the dark room, followed by Xander. Coming up to the side of the bed, she looked down at the two sleeping lovers and her heart ached at the thought of pulling them apart.
Buffy gave Xander a nod and he looked at her, shrugging his shoulders. He had no idea how to get the vampire to turn over without waking him up. Buffy gave him an exasperated look before motioning with her fingers for him to tickle Spike's neck.
"Ewwww," Xander whispered, the thought of tickling the blonde vampire definitely not appealing to him. Seeing Buffy glaring at him from across the bed, he looked back at the sleeping vampire for a moment.
"Why do I have to be the one to get all touchy feely with blonde here?" He asked. "Why can't you do it?"
"Because, Xander," Buffy whispered harshly. "Willow's a little lacking in the clothing department right now. Did you really want to pull her naked body out of the bed?"
"Right. So the plan is that I tickle the vampire," he stated.
"Xander, just do it," she growled through clenched teeth.
Xander let out another deep sigh before finally leaning in and very lightly toughing the side of Spike's neck.
"See? Didn't work. Guess we'll have to try something else," he said quickly. Buffy glared at him again, hands on her hips. "Oh, alright, fine." Leaning in again, he lightly tickled the vampire's neck.
Spike groaned slightly and brought a hand up to swat at the offending fingers.
"You know, I was just thinking that tickling a sleeping vampire on the NECK might not exactly be the best idea," Xander whispered.
"Well, if you keep talking, we won't have to worry about that, because the sleeping vampire will be much more awake," Buffy hissed.
Xander rolled his eyes and grimaced as he leaned down and began to tickle Spike's neck again. This time the vampire groaned a little louder and turned, letting go of Willow. Grabbing a blanket from the floor, Buffy quickly tugged on Willow's arm, pulling her sleeping body from the bed, wrapping her in the blanket and lifting her up.
"Good, Xander, now…"
"Buffy!" Xander gasped and Buffy looked up to see that Spike was now asleep on his other side and holding onto Xander's hand tightly, stroking it slightly in his sleep.
"Xander, just pull your hand away," she told him.
"I'm trying," he insisted. "He's not letting go!" Xander leaned down a little further to try and wrench his hand away and tried to hold back a yelp as Spike rolled a little further and grabbed the back of Xander's head, pulling him into a kiss.
"Mmmm, Willow," Spike mumbled, still asleep, before releasing his hold on the boy and rolling back over to his original position, hugging a pillow against his body.
Xander gasped and sputtered, desperate to run from the room and wash his mouth out with any kind of soap that he could find. Buffy quickly followed him out of the room, carrying the still sleeping redhead, trying not to laugh out loud at the sight she had just seen.
Once she was out in the hallway, she set Willow down on the floor and tiptoed back in to grab some clothes. As she walked back out again, the slayer glanced back at the unsuspecting vampire, a pang of guilt hitting her. Finally, she shook the thoughts away and closed the door, quickly dressing the redhead and carrying her out to the car that was waiting to take her to the airport and the private plane that would fly her off to her new life.
~Part: 19~
(Three years later)
Giles looked at the girl sitting across from him, his mind reeling. He had never expected to see the redhead again and now, having her back in Sunnydale, it was like his long lost daughter had come home. Still he was unsure of just what to tell her. She was waiting for answers and they both knew that he had them, but just how much information she should be given, he didn't know.
Clearly she had been called back here for a reason. They had been able to defeat Glory after sending the key away and had hoped that was the end of the threat to the key, but he should have known better. In fact, he did know better. A prophecy was not something you could fool or alter. It was a written truth and they could hide from it no longer.
"Tell me," she repeated, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Everything. Tell me. Now."
"Well, uh, we performed a spell, to remove the memories of your life here and replace them," he told her.
"A spell?" She questioned, skeptically. "You performed a spell? Oh, like magic tricks and potions? Did you pull out your caldron and dance around a fire before flying away on a broom?" Sarcasm was thick in her voice. Clearly she didn't believe him.
"Willow, I understand that this is hard to take in. There are things in this world, things that you are not aware of because…" "Because you performed a spell," she interrupted, rolling her eyes. "And you expect me to believe that everything that has happened in my life, my parents dying, my friendships, all of it, it never happened?"
"Parents dying?" Xander asked.
"About three years ago," she told him, looking down sadly. "Traveling abroad. There was an accident and they were killed."
"Three years ago?" Anya repeated, looking toward Giles nervously.
"Giles, you said she would have happy memories, a happy life," Xander said, accusation in his voice.
"Well, I-that was what I had called for. I had no exact control over things however, and…"
"Hey! Excuse me! Still sitting here and still not believing any of this!" Willow shouted, jumping up from the couch.
"Willow, it's true," Buffy intervened. "Things happened here a-and we had to send you away."
"And, what? Sticking me on an airplane wasn't enough? You had to do some hocus-pocus-y spell first?"
"It was complicated. You wouldn't have left otherwise, and…"
"You people really believe what you're saying, don't you?" Willow shouted. "Spells and magic and demons? They aren't real! They're just stories to scare children."
"Actually, that's not true," Anya said softly. "Vampires and other demons are real. You saw them tonight. A-and magic? Real too. Watch."
Anya grabbed a book from a nearby table and a little bag of dust. Opening the book up to a random page, she quickly recited a short incantation. As she said the last word, she slammed the book shut and tossed a small amount of the dust on the cabinet next to her, which held Giles' record collection. Everyone jumped as there was a loud bang and a flash of light. A second later, they all saw that the cabinet was gone.
Willow looked toward Anya in shock, her eyes wide and stepped back until she hit a wall.
"I-I-what did you just do?" She asked quietly.
"My records!" Giles shouted, jumping up from the chair he was in. "Good lord, woman! What have you done?"
"I just wanted to prove to Willow that magic was real. I mean, after all she was a…"
"Anya!" Xander shouted. "X-nay on the itch-way alk-tay."
Anya gave her boyfriend a confused look. "Huh? I was only going to say that Willow was a…"
"An! Hun! Shhh," Xander said, stepping up next to the former demon. "Giles, I'm sure that she can get your records back, right?"
"Uh-actually, I have no idea how to do that," Anya said, looking around the room uncomfortably. "I don't even know what spell that actually was or where I sent them, and…"
"How did you do that?" Willow asked, causing everyone to look over at the momentarily forgotten redhead.
"Magic," Anya said matter-of-factly.
"Like I was telling you, Willow," Giles said gently, "magic is very real, as are demons."
"I-I-I don't understand," Willow muttered, feeling suddenly so lost and confused. "I don't remember any of this."
"No, you wouldn't," he told her. "The spell we did, it erased your memory completely. To be quite honest, we were very surprised to find that you were coming back here."
"I-I had dreams about this place, and-and you were there," she said, pointing to Buffy, "and you were there, and-and-you, but-but I'm not Dorothy and this isn't Oz, and…"
Willow paused as an image suddenly passed before her of a boy with red hair, kissing her. The image suddenly changed to a creature that looked like a wolf, lunging toward her. She jumped and the image changed again. They were coming in rapid succession now, much like her dreams often did, and she could make little sense of them.
"I'm going to ask you out, and I'm kind of nervous about it," she heard the boy say. "It's like freeze-frame, Willow kissage… plus bonus points for using the word mosey…she's like me, a wolf…When are you leaving? Pretty much now…Oz, don't you love me? My whole life, I've never loved anything else…but now's not that time, I guess." Willow closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, desperate to stop the barrage of images. When she looked up again, she saw everyone in the room staring at her in concern.
"Are-are you alright?" Giles asked.
"Yeah, fine, I-it's just-it's a lot to take in, and I-I need to go I think."
"You can stay at my place," Buffy said, taking a step toward the redhead. She stopped, though, when Willow tried to step back, hitting the wall again.
"No! No I-I have a room at the, uh, at the hotel. I think I should just, um, go there. Now."
Willow turned and headed toward the door, stopping only when Spike, who had remained silent this whole time, stepped out in front of her.
"You might have noticed that it's not exactly safe out there, pet," he said softly, "All sorts of nasty buggers, just love to take a bite out of a sweet little girl like you. Town's full of vampires, and…"
"Like you?" She asked, remembering the way his face had changed during the fight earlier.
Spike was slightly taken back by the harsh tone of her voice. "Yeah, `cept they're a lot more interested in killing you," he told her.
"And you're not?" She asked, skeptically.
Spike leaning in and grinning slightly at her. "Trust me, luv, if I ever killed you, you wouldn't stay dead."
Willow took a nervous step back, her eyes widening, just as Xander stepped up to them.
"Why don't I go ahead and walk Willow back to her hotel?" He asked, glaring at Spike. The vampire stared at him, considering the option before finally taking a step back.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan, mate," the vampire said with a terse smile. "Have a few things to discuss with the watcher and the slayer anyway."
At that, Xander lead a very weary and confused Willow out the door, while Spike turned toward Buffy and Giles, a menacing look on his face.
~Part: 20~
"So, um…Willow," Xander said awkwardly as they walked down the street. There was so much that he wanted to say and he had no idea where to start.
"Where did I live?" She asked suddenly.
"Huh? Uh, two streets over, actually," he told her, surprised by the question.
"Can I see the house?" She questioned quietly.
"Yeah, sure," Xander replied, sounding a little more enthusiastic than he had intended and steering her down the next side street. "So, you believe us now?"
"I don't know," she said, eyeing him suspiciously. "I-I mean, what would you think if someone suddenly told you that everything you remember like all the time you spent with your best friend was just a lie?"
Xander looked at her sadly, remembering the very moment, three years before, when he did find out just that. Finally, he shook the heart- breaking memories away.
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. I remember when we first found out that demons and magic were real. Buffy had just come to town and I remember…"
"I don't," she interrupted. "I don't remember any of that." Her voice sounded harsh now and she didn't notice that they had stopped walking. "You tell me that this is where I'm from, this is where I lived, and you are my friends, but I don't remember any of it, and apparently that's because my "so-called" friends took away all my memories and replaced them with ones that were made up. I mean, do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"
Xander said nothing in reply, knowing there was nothing that could possibly make the situation better, and simply reached out, lightly turning her to face the house they were in front of.
Willow's eyes went wide as she stared at the dark house. She was sure she had never been there before, but something about it felt so familiar.
"Is-is anyone home?" She asked, noticing that no lights were on. Xander shook his head. "Your parents, they're out of town, I think. They're usually off traveling."
"My parents?" Willow gasped, her eyes widening further. Her chest contracted as she felt a shot of pain through her heart at the thought of her deceased parents. They had been so close, so loving and nurturing, and then suddenly they were gone, and she was left alone or apparently they weren't and she wasn't.
"They're-they're alive?" She whispered. "How-I don't understand…can we go inside?" The redhead looked up with hopefully eyes at her former best friend. Xander simply nodded and pulled a key from his pocket.
"You have a key?" She mused.
"You gave it to me years ago," he told her. "Last time I used it was the last night I saw you." At that, they reached the door and he unlocked it, letting them both in.
Xander stood and watched as Willow slowly made her way through the house, occasionally picking things up and looking at them before moving onto the next room. She stopped at a table full of picture frames and grabbed one of her parents, looking at it with tears in her eyes.
"It's them," she whispered. As she looked up at him, Xander saw the tears in her eyes. "They're alive?" The young man nodded. "Didn't they wonder what happened to me? I-I don't even see a picture of me. Didn't they care when I went away?"
"They, uh-they thought you went away to college," he said, his voice catching in his throat. God, he hated to be the one to have to explain this all to her. "They weren't really around a whole lot, Will, and they aren't really the most observant parents."
"Did they even notice I was gone?" She asked. "I mean, the parents that I remember, they would have noticed!" She was getting increasingly upset.
"I think-I think the parents you remember are a little bit better than the real thing," Xander said quietly, looking away from the redhead.
Willow nodded and turned to head up the stairs. Reaching the top, she found her bedroom easily enough. It hadn't changed from when she was young and looked exactly like the room that she remembered back in New York, with the exception of the shelves of occult books in this one.
Glancing toward the French doors on the opposite side of the room, an image suddenly flashed before her. There was a dark-haired man, standing at the doors, asking to come in. Something about needing to be invited.
"I'm not allowed to have boys in my room." "I promise to behave myself." "Oh, great, I'm so the net girl." Willow blinked a few times, wanting to stop the barrage of strange images from coming and glanced toward an empty fish tank. Again, images flashed. Her, on the phone, opening an envelope and pulling out a string, lined with her dead fish.
Xander saw Willow seemingly space out for a moment and then suddenly gasp and jump, her eyes darting around the room nervously.
"Willow?"
She didn't seem to hear him as again, her eyes started to glaze over, more memories flooding her mind.
She was sitting, with the blonde vampire from earlier that night. It always seemed to come back to him. He was kissing her, touching her, holding her, making her feel things she had never felt before. Her breath was coming in short gasps as the sensations filled her mind.
"I'll love you for eternity," she heard a voice whisper, just before everything seemed to fade to black and then the world came rushing back.
She stood in the middle of the room, lightly rubbing the small scar on the side of her neck without notice, looking like a very lost little girl.
"I-I don't understand any of this? These images, or memories, or whatever they are. They're all so horrible and-and dead fish and guys I don't remember and I just don't understand."
The redhead sunk down into the bed behind her and Xander moved to sit next to her, wanting to comfort her. When he reached out to pull her into a hug, Willow jumped up again, suddenly, and gave him a nervous look. Xander felt his heart drop, remembering that this girl before him didn't know him, didn't love him and definitely didn't trust him.
"Will, I'm sorry," he whispered as he watched the girl make her way to the door.
"I want to leave," she told him quietly before he followed her down the stairs and out of the house.