Part: 31 - 35
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~Part: 31 ~
Walking down the dark, empty streets of Sunnydale, Spike aimlessly searched for the distraught redhead. He wasn't entirely sure why he was looking for her, or what he would say to her. The vampire was still torn between the aching love he felt in his heart, and the painful screams coming from his head. She wasn't what he thought, and his feelings were fabricated, but still...they were there and they felt real enough. There was something else...something that Xander had said to him, about not caring how he come to love her, just accepting that he did. For once, he thought the boy might be right.
The sun would soon be up, and finally, with a sigh of resignation, Spike headed home. As he walked up to his crypt, the blond vampire thought he sensed something, something so familiar, but he brushed off the feeling and opened the heavy door, walking in and slamming it behind him wearily.
Looking up, his eyes widened, seeing the redhead sitting on the sarcophagus.
How she had ended up there, she herself couldn't even be quite sure. She had wandered the streets, feeling more lost and confused than she would have thought possible. Here she was, back home again, with the people that loved her, and she knew who she was and where she belonged. Or, at least, she knew what those truthes used to be, but now she was left to wonder just how much of her old life was real and true. She was the key, she was created by a group of monks and all of the memories that had just suddenly returned...they were created as well. Except for Spike. That part was real and true, and the only thing that she knew for certain belonged to her. He had loved her, claimed her, and that was after the monks had messed with the world's reality, and before her friends had messed with hers.
When she had finally stopped walking, Willow looked up, not entirely surprised to find herself standing in front of Spike's crypt, and feeling a deep longing in her heart to be near him, to touch him, to be held by him. There was a twing of pain at the thought that he had lied to her, told her she was nothing to him, when clearly that was not the case, or at least it hadn't been at one time. Maybe it was true. Maybe, now, she was nothing to him, but she had to be sure. She couldn't let anymore time go by before telling him how she felt.
When the door opened and the blond vampire walked in, Willow's stomach did flip flops, as her heart pounded in her chest, but she was determined to say what she needed to say, and Willow did always accomplish anything that she was determined to do.
"You lied to me," she whispered harshly, afraid of what would come out if she tried to say anything more.
"Willow, I'm sorry. I know that-"
"Don't," she stopped him, not wanting to hear whatever excuses he was about to give her. "I have to say this, a-and if I stop now, I might not start again and this really needs to be said. I remember now. You claimed me. You told me that you loved me, and then you sent me away," she accused.
"No!" He argued, startling her with the conviction in his voice. "Red, I had nothing to do with that. I didn't know a thing about it until you returned. I thought you left."
"You didn't even look for me," she said quietly, looking down at the ground.
"I should have," he admitted, wishing she would look up at him again, though not entirely sure he could stand to see the hurt in her eyes. He could feel the magic radiating off of her. If she had power before, it was nothing compared to what the girl possessed now. She was buzzing with it.
"Willow, please look at me," he pleaded. She still refused to look up, and finally he reached out, running his fingers under her chin and tilting it up gently. She was startled by the intensity in his eyes and wanted desperately to run away from it.
"I'm so sorry, luv. I'm sorry for what they did to you. I'm sorry that you lost a part of your life. I'm sorry that I didn't try to find you and I'm sorry that when you came back I didn't tell you about us. I didn't know what to do, and I wasn't sure that…"
"I've been so confused," she told him. "I didn't understand. And YOU should have told me," she yelled, giving him an angry shove.
"I'm so sorry," he told her again, seeing the tears well up in her eyes as the reality of everything hit her.
"I'm the key," she said in a voice that even he could barely hear. "I'm what Glory was after. I'm…the memories they took away, they weren't even real. Just traded one false set for another. Nothing I've ever been and nothing I've ever done was real."
"Willow, that's not true," he told her earnestly, gripping her hands in his tightly, waiting for her to turn her teary eyes up to his again. "You and I. What we had. That was real."
The witch shook her head sadly. "Was it? They just made you think you loved me. It was all a-a-a trick."
"Willow," Spike began to protest again, but the redhead held up her hand to stop him, sliding down from where she sat and stood before him.
"It was a trick Spike, but the thing is, even though I know that…Even though I know, well, everything now, I still love you. It's still in my heart, and I still ache for you. It may not mean much, now, coming from a little ball of energy, but I love you. I never got to tell you that before."
The vampire said nothing. He simply stared at her, his expression stoic and completely unreadable. He had no idea what to say to her. These were the words that he had longed to hear for the last three years, and now that she was saying them, he had no idea how to respond. He knew deep down that what she had said was true. The feelings and emotions that he had for her very likely did come from the monks, but just then he didn't really care so much about that.
Mistaking his silence as disinterest, Willow turned away, heading for the door, tears again filling her eyes. She jumped, feeling a cool hand reach out and grab onto her arm, pulling her back toward the blond.
"You belong to me," he told her, his voice deep and thick with a mixture of emotion and desire. It made her shiver in his grasp. The truth was, he wasn't even entirely sure if he believed those words, until they actually came out of his mouth. Once said, he knew that they were, indeed true.
"You might have forgotten that for a little while," he said with a slight smirk, "but I think it's starting to come back to you. I thought it was all a lie, that they had just used me. But I love you, Willow. I don't care how it came about. The important thing is that I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anything in my entire existence. If the monks put that there, then I guess I owe them a big debt of gratitude, because there is no better gift that I could have been given."
The redhead opened her mouth, though she wasn't quite sure what she was about to say. The blond vampire lifted a finger to her mouth, hushing her. "You DO belong to me. Don't try to deny it and don't try to fight it. You belong to me, now and always."
With that, he leaned in, claiming her lips in a possessive kiss that was long over due.
Suddenly, he jumped back, feeling her magic run through him like a jolt of electricity.
"I-I'm sorry," she whispered meekly. "I didn't mean to. I just…"
"Shhh," he tried to calm her." It's alright, luv. I know you didn't do it on purpose. All that magic running through you, it's gotta be tough to control."
"I don't remember it ever feeling like this," she told him. "I-I don't know if I can keep it under control. I don't know how to, it's so strong. Oh god, Spike. Everything is just so-so much. Buffy and Xander and Giles and-and the spell, and finding out that I'm the key, and then you a-and the claim, and my other life? My friends? It's all just so, it's too much."
The blond wrapped the weary girl in his arms, wanting desperately to comfort and shield her from this pain, and destroy everyone who was causing it. Damn their good intentions.
"Come on, luv. Let's put you to bed," he told her, leading her down to the cave below. "Get some sleep, and tomorrow this will all seem… Well, it will all still seem pretty horrible, but a bit more manageable I'd wager."
She gave him a slight smile as she curled up on his bed, wrapping a blanket around herself.
"You won't go anywhere?" She asked softly, stifling a yawn.
"Wild horses couldn't drag me away," he promised, sitting beside her and leaning against the head board, reveling in the feeling of her warm body curled up against him. Spike let his hand drift down to her soft hair, and ran his fingers through it soothingly as he watched her drift off to sleep.
~Part: 32~
"You ready for this?"
"If I say no, can we turn and run away?"
"'Fraid not luv, but I will be standing right with you holding your hand the whole time."
Willow looked up, giving the blond vampire a warm, thankful smile, squeezing his hand tightly. This was the last place she wanted to be and the last thing that she wanted to do, but she knew that she had to face her friends. The longer she put it off, the worse it would be. Besides, she suspected that she still needed their help.
"Willow, come in!" Giles said as he pulled the door open. "Spike, do come in," he added, grateful to the vampire for keeping an eye on Willow for the last few days.
"Is she here?" Willow looked up to see Xander coming out of the kitchen. He stopped half way across the room, completely unsure of what to say or do. His eyes pleaded with her for forgiveness, but his mouth was unable to form words.
"I'm here," she said finally, moving to the couch and sitting down with Spike right at her side.
"How-How are you doing?" Xander asked, his voice strained with emotion.
"How do you think?" She asked, just as the door opened and Buffy walked in.
"I hoped that…" he started, his voice sad and desperate, before trailing off. "Willow, I'm so sorry," he said suddenly. "If I could go back and change things, I would. I'm so sorry we sent you away. If you had any idea how much it killed me, how much I missed you, and…"
"Xander," she interrupted. "I get it. I do. It's just, you took away my entire life, everything I knew, everything I was. I'm not quite ready to forgive and forget yet. Give me some time, okay?"
The young man nodded sadly, glancing over at Buffy, who looked equally heart broken.
After a long silence, Giles cleared his throat and began to speak. "I, uh, I talked to the council this afternoon. We still aren't sure exactly why the spell stopped working, or how you ended up back here, Willow."
"So sorry to mess up your plans," she mumbled bitterly, feeling Spike's hands squeeze hers tightly, reminding her that she wasn't alone.
"I simply mean that they think that someone might have purposefully brought you here. Someone might have known of your where abouts and brought you back to Sunnydale at this specific time for this specific reason."
"That demon cult?" Buffy questioned. "One of them?"
"We're not sure yet, though we are looking into that as one possibility. Until we know for sure though, you should not be alone, Willow. I'd hardly say that you are out of danger right now."
"I've got knights trying to destroy me, demons trying to kidnap me, someone else possibly after me, all because I'm the key. What exactly do they want?" Willow questioned.
"As far as I can see, the prophecy states that a demon cult will use the key to open a portal that will in effect destroy the world."
"Yippie," Willow muttered sarcastically. "And here I was afraid that I would never do anything big with my life."
"So, we have to stop them," Buffy said decidedly.
"Right, because up until now we've been so very successful at that," Anya said with a roll of her eyes.
"We defeated Glory, didn't we?" Buffy replied defensively.
"Yeah, but that was only after the council suddenly found a way to destroy her. Are we relying on more blind luck this time?" Xander asked.
"Xander! I'm just saying that…"
Willow tuned out the rest of the argument as it continued to escalate. Eventually Spike joined in and she quietly stood up, heading outside for a breath of fresh air.
Shutting the front door, she leaned against it, closing her eyes for a moment, before opening them again. Willow jumped in surprise at the sight before her.
"Rosalyn!" She exclaimed in surprise. "I-I didn't know that you were...What are you doing here?"
"Came to see how my best friend was holding up," the girl told her with a smile.
Willow frowned at her, suddenly. "Yeah, right. About that, Giles told me about the whole spell thing, and about how you were just working for the council. You're not really my friend."
"Yeah, they did mention that Giles told you that. Well, I may have been working for the council, Willow, but for the last three years we have been friends, and I feel like we've really grown close to one another," Rosalyn told her sweetly. "I care about you, and I care about what happens to you. You're very important to me."
"Really?" Willow replied with a small smile, hope evident in her voice.
"Absolutely," her friend told her, with another bright smile. "You have no idea how special and important you are. I can just…"
As she was reaching out to grab Willow's hand, Rosalyn stopped, feeling something. It was magic, it was strong, and it was coming from Willow. Rosalyn frowned, pulling her hand away.
"Sorry," Willow muttered, blushing slightly. "Still getting used to the magic. Having a hard time containing it."
"I see," the girl replied, her voice considerably more cold, her eyes angrily staring at the redhead. "Where did it come from?"
"Giles, he, uh, he undid the spell, and my magic was unbound," Willow said uncertainly, not liking the suddenly angry and cold look she was getting.
"Hmmm, well, the council failed to mention that part," Rosalyn told her. "That complicates things just a bit."
"Yeah, well I guess that Giles isn't keen on telling them everything. It's kind of a need-to-know- basis sorta deal."
"Rupert is a fool," Rosalyn stated harshly. "Always has been, always will be."
"Uh, maybe I should get back inside."
"No, I don't think you should do that," Willow heard her say, just before she felt a sting in her neck and everything went black.
~Part: 33~
"Did you really think that you were better than me, Willow?" The redhead heard the voice as she came too, her head pounding. Pulling at her arms, she quickly realized that she was chained to the wall behind her.
"Rosalyn?" She asked groggily.
"Did you actually think you could take away everything that I worked so hard for?" Her voice was cold and harsh. Willow looked around, trying to spot the girl, and finally saw her on the far side of what looked like an old warehouse. "After all the time and effort that I put in, did you really think that I would just let you go, just like that? Did you!?!"
"I-I don't understand," Willow said quietly.
Rosalyn let out a cruel laugh. "Of course you don't. You never really understood much, did you Willow? You have made a wonderful pawn though, I will tell you that much."
"A-A pawn?" Willow questioned.
"Oh come on! It's like you said, Willow, we were never friends. For three LONG years, I had to stick by you, pretending that I liked you, pretending to be interested in all the lame, boring things you would ramble on and on about. All that time, I had to pretend to be friends with you. Thank god I was being paid for it."
"What are you doing?" Willow asked, trying to magically undo the shackles around her wrists.
"I'm getting ready for a little surprise," the girl told her. "Oh and Willow? I wouldn't bother wasting your energy on undoing the chains. Magically reinforced," she said with a cruel grin. "Isn't that neat? Didn't want to take any chances. Not now."
"Wh-what kind of surprise?" The redhead asked cautiously.
"Well, if I told you, it really wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" She laughed as Willow struggled hopelessly against the chains. "I would save my strength if I were you, sweetheart. You're going to need it."
"What is all this? What are you doing to me?" Willow demanded, looking around at the magic ingredients and spell books around them. Candles flickered all around the large, dark grey room, and their voices bounced off of the metal walls.
"I stuck by your side for three years, Willow. For three years I pretended to care about you, to be your friend," Rosalyn told her. "Those other so called friends of yours…Those pathetic saps were stuck with you, whether they liked it or not. They were never given a choice. I, on the other hand, chose you, and now, it's time for you to do a little something for me."
"What's that?" Willow asked through clenched teeth, as the girl approached her, a dagger in her hand. Reaching up, Rosalyn stabbed the palm of Willow's hand. The redhead let out a shriek in pain, feeling the blood seep down her hand and run down her arm. Rosalyn reaching up again with the dagger, running it along the wound, letting the blood pool on the blade before removing it.
"Thanks for that," she whispered with a cruel grin, before going over to where she had the magic supplies gathered and let a few droplets fall in to a small caldron, before moving everything back behind some boxes, hidden from view.
Walking over to a tall, steal door, Rosalyn pulled it open, grinning as a dosen of the demons that had attacked Willow days earlier came walking into the room.
"Come on in, boys," she said with a chuckle.
Willow shivered in fear as they surrounded her, growling and glaring at her.
"Surprise," Rosalyn said giddily, as she walked back up to Willow.
"What are you doing?" Willow asked, panic taking over. "Rosalyn, you need to let me go! You don't understand what you're doing."
"Trust me," she whispered to the terrified redhead, "I know exactly what I'm doing." Turning back to the demons that had them surrounded, she smiled again. "She's all yours boys. Now make sure you play nice."
She walked away, leaving Willow alone, still surrounded by the growling demons, who began to chant with low voices in words that she couldn't understand.
"Rosalyn!" Willow screamed. "Don't leave! Please, stop! Don't do this!" She watched as the girl she had once called a friend walked away, backing up behind the boxes, where the magic supplies were hidden, bringing a finger to her lips shushing her in a conspiritorial gesture.
Willow began to feel a burning sensation in her chest, the magic with in her feeling as through it were bubbling up inside of her, nearly ready to bust. The more the demons chanted, the more the searing pain burned through her. Gripping the chains above her tightly, Willow closed her eyes, concentrating on the only other thing besides the pain that she could think of. Spike.
~Part: 34~
"Willow," Spike whispered, feeling her cry of pain through the bond. She was close. He knew that much. He just hoped he'd find her in time.
"Spike, where exactly are we going?" Buffy asked, following the vampire, Xander and Giles not far behind.
"She's close, and she's in pain. Something's wrong," he told her hurriedly, as he continued to walk on. They had all been in the middle of a huge screaming match when he had suddenly noticed that Willow was gone. It was only moments later that he began to feel a pull at their bond. He knew that she was afraid, that she was in pain and that she needed him. He would be damned if he'd let her down again.
~*~ The chanting continued, and Willow forced her eyes open, looking around the room, her vision blurring from the pain. Her eyes widened slightly and she forced them to focus as she saw Rosalyn stepping out from behind the boxes, holding whatever she had been concocting earlier in her hands.
The redhead let out a scream as light began to pour from the center of her chest, and she felt as if she was being torn in half. The earth began to shake and the room started to fill with light that seemed to come from an opening in the ceiling above her. The chanting grew louder and more fevered and Willow finally understood what they were doing. They were opening the portal that Giles had talked about. They were using her to destroy the world.
As light continued to pour from her, Willow forced her eyes once again toward Rosalyn, just as the girl lifted the stone cup she was holding to her lips and began to drink whatever was inside. As soon as she gulped it down, Rosalyn began chanting quietly, though the words were different from what the demons were saying. Her eyes began to glow green and the light that had been coming from Willow and flowing to the portal began to shift toward the other girl. The light, the magic and the energy that was being drained from the redhead was now filling her former friend, and Rosalyn was quickly becoming giddy with power. The demons stopped their chanting and began to move toward her, but with a slight flick of her wrist, she held them at bay, rendering them motionless.
"This is it!" She shouted, feeling the magic fill her. "Now the world will bow to me!"
Willow felt the last of her energy slipping away, her legs giving out beneath her, the chains biting into her arms as they held her up. She began to close her eyes, not able to hold them open any longer, when she suddenly felt a jolt, and forced them open again. The redhead was shocked to see a blond vampire standing before her, blocking her view of Rosalyn. He had stepped between them, stopping the flow of magic and power from one girl to the other.
"Nice move, vampire," Rosalyn spat, "but you're just a tad too late. I already have everything I came for." Holding up her hand, she easily threw Spike several feet back into Willow.
Spike quickly picked himself up. Reaching up, he pulled the chains from the wall, breaking the redhead free and catching her before she dropped to the ground.
Willow looked toward him, barely able to hold her head up. "You came," she whispered.
"I'm here, luv," he assured her, terror at her current state coursing through him.
"Isn't this touching," Rosalyn broke in. "I hate to break up your tender little moment here, but there is the little matter of me and my new found power to talk about."
Spike held Willow close to him, turning toward the other girl, growingly lowly.
"I really have to thank you, Willow," the girl said smugly. "I could never have done it without you. And actually, I suppose I owe you a little bit of thanks as well," she told Spike, "for keeping her safe all this time. Would have been a shame if she had been destroyed before I had a chance to drain her power properly."
"You've been planning this from the beginning," Spike accused.
"Yeah, I have," she responded with a smile. "Neat, huh? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a world to go destroy."
"You didn't really think it would be that easy, did you?"
Everyone turned toward the door, hearing Buffy speak as she entered the old warehouse.
"What is it with the bad guys and liking icky, run down warehouses, huh?" Buffy quipped. "Spike, you've been there, done that. Any thoughts?"
"Very passé if you ask me," the vampire responded with a smirk.
"You know, those were my thoughts on the subject," Buffy told him.
"Excuse me!" Rosalyn interrupted, not liking to be ignored. "Girl with all the power, standing right here."
"You're really just dieing to get your ass kicked, aren't you?" Xander stated. "Not enough attention as a child. Am I right?"
Rosalyn ignored Xander and turned her attention once again to Buffy. "The Slayer," she said with an evil grin, her glowing eyes narrowing. "I was hoping you'd show up. I've been waiting for this."
"For me to beat you?" Buffy questioned, cocking her head to the side. "'Cause, really, if you wanted it that badly, I would have been happy to oblige much sooner."
"I think you have that backwards," Rosalyn told her. "I'm the one with the power, now. All that energy that was stored in the key…it belongs to me now."
"And what's with these guys?" Buffy asked, gesturing toward the pack of demons who were still unable to move.
"Oh, them," Rosalyn said with a disinterested sigh. "Right, well, I was hoping to not have to use them. If Rupert here had left Willow's power bound, like he was supposed to, I simply had to bring her back to the hell mouth at the time of their little ritual and sacrifice her myself. All that power being bound in one place, it would have been simple. But no, you had to go and "do the right thing," giving her back all her stupid memories and magic. So, I had to call in plan B. These guys. They wanted the key to destroy the earth. I knew where she was. We struck up a bargain."
"I don't get it. Giles, I thought you said these guys don't usually work with anyone else."
"Well, normally they don't," Giles told him defensively.
"For the right price they will," Rosalyn amended with a smile. "I told them I would deliver the key. What I didn't bother to mention was that once they began to release her power with that cute little ritual, I would then be taking over, draining the magic into myself, instead of opening the portal. And, man, was that ever fun! Plus, this way, draining her slowly, hurt a lot more, huh Willow?" She added with a mocking pout.
Willow glared at the girl as she clung to Spike.
"So now you think I'm going to just let you walk out of here, and do… whatever the hell it is you plan to do?" Buffy questioned.
"No, actually, I thought I'd let you deal with these guys," she said, gesturing toward the demons. "I'm guessing they're gonna be pretty mad, but I'm also guessing that throwing a slayer into the deal….might just make them slightly happier."
With a slight flick of her wrist, Rosalyn released the pack of demons, and pointed toward Buffy. "Kill her," she commanded, turning toward the slayer to watch happily.
Hearing growling from behind her, Rosalyn turned back around, seeing the demons surrounding her, growling angrily.
"What are you doing?" She shouted. "I said kill the slayer! She's over there!"
"You took our key," one of the demons said with a growl. "You stole the energy. We need the energy to open the portal."
Rosalyn's eyes opened wide as she realized what they were saying. They could still do the ritual, only now she held the key's power. As the demons descended upon Rosalyn, Buffy, Giles and Xander ran toward Willow and Spike.
"Are you okay?" Buffy asked, looking with worry toward the redhead, ignoring the chanting and screaming that was happening behind her.
"Yeah, I…I think so," Willow told her weakly. "I just feel… different. The magic…it's gone."
Buffy nodded her head, looking sadly toward the redhead. "I'm just glad you're okay. If we hadn't gotten here in time, I..."
"Buffy?" Willow interrupted. "You, uh, might want to do something about that portal thing that's opening up."
Buffy turned around, looking toward the screaming girl and the pack of demons surrounding her, before glancing up at the opening portal over head. Before she had a chance to make a move, the main doors of the building burst open, armored knights running in.
"Or, maybe they can handle it," Willow mumbled.
"I think that might be our cue to go, guys," Buffy said quickly. Spike lifted Willow up into his arms and they all ran toward the back entrance of the warehouse, leaving behind the band of knights as they slaughtered the demons and destroyed the new key.
~Part: 35~
"How are you, luv?" Spike asked as he sat down next to Willow on the soft bed, candle light flickering around them.
"I really wish everyone would stop asking me that," she told him with a slight smile.
"We're all just worried about you," he explained.
The redhead let out a slight sigh. "I know, and Giles and Xander and Buffy are feeling all guilty about what they did."
"They were only trying to protect you. Course, I'm not sayin I agree with that they did. Complete morons, the entire bunch, and I'll rip their throats out of that's what you want, but..."
"Spike," Willow interrupted, grimacing slightly at his words. "No ripping out of the throats. I'm still upset about the whole thing. Losing three years of my life like that, not exactly something I'm going to be quick to get over, but at the same time, I know they were only doing it because they care about me, so I guess that means I still love them."
Spike arched an eyebrow, questioning her judgment and Willow playfully slapped his chest. Catching her hand before she could pull it away, Spike tugged her toward him, kissing her softly. Willow slowly deepened the kiss, allowing her entire being to sink into him.
Finally, he pulled away, watching the flushed redhead as she panted slightly.
"So the magic's all gone?" He questioned. Willow nodded. "Sorry about that?"
"Not sure," she told him, looking pensive. "I mean, it was neat to have that power and, you know, be allspecial with the magic and stuff, but I kind of like just being me now, you know? Especially after not knowing who that was for so long. It's good to just have Willow back."
"Couldn't agree with you more," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her again. Spike gently nudged her back down into the soft bed, covering her body with his own, as she melted into his kiss. Willow deepened the kiss, allowing herself to be lost in the blond vampire's embrace. She might not be sure of where she had come from, or what she had been, but the one thing she knew for certain was that right now, she was right where she belonged.
The End