Lighted candles were the only source of lighting in one of the secretive
rooms that he called home in the Initiative.  He slowly closed the door
behind him and looked around the bedroom.  Even with the candle light
dancing around him and casting odd shadows on the wall, the room was
filled with darkness.  Looking through a wall of light created by the
candles, he saw his queen, sitting quietly at her vanity, slowly brushing
her long, dark black hair.

The dyed jet black head looked at his reflection in the mirror.  He
could see her cold, maroon eyes staring at him from her porcelain painted
face.  As she smiled slightly, he noticed her elongated canines - a sign
most people only took for vampires, but actually belonged to several
demon species.  Riley took the brush from her hand, which was a light
blue color.  The tint reached her elbow and then tapered off to that of a
normal human.  Lightly brushing his hand with her long, black
fingernails, she laughed and then asked, "So, my love, how was the
trial?"

He sighed, "Sidney is better than we thought, but not good enough to
stop us from extending the trial."

"Good.  All we need is a few more days, and then it won't matter."

Seeming to only take in the sight of her hair, as he brushed through the
silky mane, he quietly said to the side, "Too bad mother died.  She would
have been proud of you, of how you thought of bringing us to the
Hellmouth and finding a way to bring down the slayer and her group."

She looked up at him and then turned around.  Getting up, Tara spun her
hair around into a bun like position and then stuck two pins into it,
holding it up.  Placing her hand on Riley's chest, she pushed him back
till he fell onto a chair.  He looked up at her, and took a deep breath
as she lowered herself on his lap.  Straddling him, she brought her lips
to his neck and started to plant kisses on the base of it.  She worked
her way up to his ear lobe, where she sucked on it for a while and then
started to nibble at it with her canines.  Listening to the quickening of
his heart, she pulled away just enough to whisper in his ear, but close
enough to send shivers down his spine with her breath.  "And what about
the leader of the slayer's group?  Is her replacement fitting in?"

As she started to unbutton his shirt and work her way down, not only
lightly laying kisses on him, but also licking, he answered in a ragged
breath, "Our source says that she is unsure, but that the gang has
already started to think you are too blame."

She laughed quietly.  "And what are they going to do?  The Willow I
replaced her with will grow into her powers slowly, and already has
started to, but they can not come close to stopping me like hers could
have.  With Willow out of the picture, I will ascend to a higher demon
and rule over the Hellmouth.  I will be invincible, and the slayer and
her little gang of followers will either bow down to me, or die."

Tara pulled away from him as his hands reached up and brought her shirt
up.  She felt his hands roam over her, and sighed as her thoughts were
interrupted by his voice, "And what if they find a way to get her back?"

Looking down at him, Tara shook her head and brought her lips down to
his earlobe again as her hands started to roam down his chest.
Whispering in his ear, she remarked, "The mirror is the only way, and
they won't get close to it without getting through the Initiative and me.
 The final hour of their dynasty is coming to a close, and then we will
rule together."

"You wouldn't leave me?" he asked.

Running a long fingernail against his neck, she brought forth a small
amount of blood.  Riley closed his eyes and sighed, never seeing the
flash in her eyes as she licked at the scratch.  Slowly, she got up and
looked down at him, a sly smile on her face, calling to him.  "Why would
I leave my husband?"  Getting up and facing her, Riley started to edge
her to the bed.  "I shall always be your dark queen and you will be my
king."

Grabbing her, Riley threw her onto the bed and then straddled her as his
hands took hold of hers and held them above her head.  Tara growled at
him and winked.  Escaping his grasp, one of her hands cupped his face.
She ran a finger along his jaw line as she smiled, openly licking her
canines.  "Please make it rough.  I want to scream."
 

Part 7

Willow slowly came down the stairs, gripping her head.  Sitting down on
the couch, she looked over at the rooms only other two inhabitants and
groaned.  Tara looked over at Giles, as he eyed the red head.  She could
tell by his face that he knew Willow was in pain, but the reason was lost
to him.  Looking back at Willow, Tara asked, "How are you feeling?"

Groaning again, Willow answered, "I feel like someone has been tap
dancing on my head."

Giles started to get up and muttered, "I'll get you some Tylenol."

Tara grabbed his hand and shook her head.  "No, it won't work.  The
power is coming forth with in her, and it's overwhelming her senses."

"What power?" asked Giles, still not getting it.

"Everyone has the inherent power to do magic, but in some families and
people, it is very strong.  I have felt it in our Willow, but in her it
is slowly being born.  In this Willow, it has been dormant, and now it is
coming to being."

Giles nodded, "All of it is coming."

"Like a giant wave that will not be stopped.  It could drown her,
because she does not know how to control it."

Willow looked up at her, squinting as she rubbed her temples.  "How
can...Make it...Can I... stop it, please?"

Tara kneeled down in front of her.  She brought her hand to Willow's
head and started to mumble incantations while her other hand formed
symbols in the air.  Willow gasped and pulled her head away.  Wide eyes
looked down at Tara and she took in a deep breath.  She gasped for air,
and then, after she found it, she slowly started to take deep breaths
till the dizziness she was feeling started to fade away.

Blinking, Willow brought her hands to her head and then looked up at
Giles.  "It's gone."

Tara shook her head.  "No, I just pushed it back some  You will have to
face it later, and I am sorry to say that it will be soon.  When the time
comes, if you're still here, I can link with you to help you control it."

Willow leaned her head to one side.  "You're my enemy.  Why?"

"Not here," answered Tara.  "Here, I am your friend."

Willow smiled and then looked up at Giles as he handed her a letter.
She squealed with glee when she saw that it was from William, but after
only a few seconds, she quieted as she read it.  Looking up at Giles and
Tara, she commented, "They think that our Tara got rid of me because I
was a threat to her, but they don't know why."

"Tell us about your Tara," coaxed Giles.

"She is married to Riley Finn, who runs the Initiative.  However, we
suspect she is the backbone of a lot of the Initiative's darker dealings,
especially with her link to the demon world."

"Which is?" asked Giles.

"She is part Poclypsa."

Tara and Giles looked at each other in surprise.  "What is it?" asked
Willow.

Looking at her with fear in her eyes, Tara answered, "Since your powers
are coming to be, you are a threat to her.  Poclypsa demons ascend to
higher beings, especially ones of powerful witchcraft and physical
strength.  Only one powerful in magic can stop her before the dark
ascension is complete."

"You mean I am going to have enough power to stop her?"

Tara nodded.  "Your powers are going to be great, and they are going to
bloom all at once, probably within a day."

"What about Amy, she has powers?"

Giles shook his head.  "No.  Your Tara sees her as no threat, or she
would be here too.  You are the threat, and we have to find a way to get
you back to stop her."

"Or," added Tara as she looked over at Giles, "find a way to transfer
that power to our Willow while she is there.  She has worked with
witchcraft, and I believe would be able to handle it.  If there was only
an amulet, like a pen box, to transfer power."

"There is," remarked Giles.  "The amulets of Theresa."

Tara smiled, "The Witch Theresa used them to transfer her powers among
her many followers.  How many are there?"

"About forty," answered Giles.  "Wesley always had an interest in them.
I'll call Angel later on to see if Wesley can help us."

At this moment, Giles's door flew open.  Buffy and Riley walked in.
Grinning, Buffy announced, "Willy gave us a lead.  I just thought I would
stop by on the way."

Willow asked, "What are doing?"

Enjoying the moment a little too much, Riley answered, "Going to kick
some demon butt for a homing amulet."

"Fun!  Can I go?" asked Willow.

Giles looked puzzled at Willow's reaction.  He pointed to his weapon's
chest.  "There are weapons over there."  The group watched on as she
opened the chest and picked out a few weapons.  Two of them were wrist
stakes.  They fit on the wrist.  When the wearer would flick the wrist
back in a fast motion, the stakes were suppose to fly out.  Buffy was the
only one to get the hang of them, and she rarely used them.  Willow
expertly put them on, surprising the group even more, being it had taken
Buffy at least five minutes to figure out what Willow did in seconds.

A smile overtook Willow's whole face as she joyfully remarked, almost
dancing to the door.  "Good!  Let's go kick some demon ass!  Nothing like
violence to clear my mind."

As she followed a silent Buffy and Riley out the door, Tara looked over
at Giles and asked, "Do you have the feeling that she would be more than
a match for Spike?"

Giles pushed up his glasses as he sat to write a letter to Spike.  "I
think she could eat him alive."  Picking up a pen, he started to write
but then paused.  Looking up at Tara, he asked, "About that half demon
thing?"

She looked down at her watch and changed the subject.  "It is getting a
tad bit late.  Maybe you should call Wesley."

He looked down at his watch and rolled his eyes.  It was only seven
fifteen. Walking into the kitchen and breaking into the refrigerator,
Tara added, "And I'm not part Poclypsa demon."  Under her breath, she
added, "At least not that kind of demon."
 

Part 8

Spike looked up from the book that he had found in William's library to
see Willow standing in front of him.  Half smiling, and half turning a
lovely tint of red, she turned her back to him, showing off a shirt that
left an open back but needed to be laced with cris-cross strings in the
back.  Sitting up to get closer to her, he reached up and started to tie
the shirt.  When he was finished, he patted her back.  She turned around
and then sat down by his feet.  Resting her head and arms on his knees,
she asked quietly, "Spike, do you miss the killing?"

Sitting back, he stared at her narrowly, not sure what to say to the
question.  "Why do you ask?"

"You said earlier that now you have had this chip for so long, you could
stay the same for this girl, even if you got it removed."

"Yes."

"But that doesn't mean that you wouldn't miss that life style?"

"I am a demon, pet.  Nothing is going to change that.  As long as I am
alive, the demon inside will be part of me, craving the kill.  I can't
stop that.  The want will always be there.  I just have to shut it away,
no matter how much I may miss it."

Willow got up and looked down at him.  "That is a bit to get used to, it
will just take time."

Spike sat up and grabbed her wrist as she started to turn away.  Right
at that time, there was a barrage of banging coming from the door.
Looking up at the clock, Spike commented, "Seven-thirty.  No one should
be here yet."

Willow rushed down the stairs with Spike on her heals.  On the lower
level, William and Angel rushed for the door.  The door flew open as
William turned the handle.  Cordelia rushed inside with a man right
behind her.  In a light accent, the man exclaimed quickly, "We must get
out of the house!!!"

Cordelia had already started pulling Willow and Spike towards the door.
"What is going on?" asked Willow as her arm was being yanked out of its
socket.

Cordelia turned to her with a look of pure panic on her face.  "There is
a bomb in the mansion!"

As soon as she explained, the group started to run out of the house.
Running out on the lawn, they started down the road when Spike suddenly
stopped.  Cordelia almost fell from the dead weight that stopped her.
Willow and her both looked over at him.  With horror on her face,  Willow
watched as Spike let go of Cordelia's hand. "The pen box, I have to go
get it!"

Willow grabbed at him as he took down the road, back towards the house
in the evening.   Watching his silhouette from what little light was
left, she couldn't help it any longer.  As she started for him, she felt
arms wrap around her.  She kept on reaching for him, looking on in horror
as he kept on towards the house.  The heals to her shoes scraped the
gravel on the road as someone tried to carry her off.  Screaming his
name, she watched as he went in.  Her heart seemed to stop, and the next
thing she knew, she was being thrown to the ground as a large quake
seemed to fill the air and her very being.

Eyes, open and desperate, looked up at William.  Looking down at her, he
knew exactly what was going on.  The panic and fear that radiated from
them explained it all, but most of all, they were starting to be filled
with desperation.  Willow started to shake.  Her fists pummeled him, as
she shouted, "He's in the house!  Spike's in the house!"  With one last
push, she shoved him off and started towards the house.  Tears streaming
down her face and screaming like she would never stop, Willow fell as she
reached the doorstep.  Fire streamed out towards her, and she blocked it
with her bloodied palms.

Still screaming, she heard glass shatter beside her.  Before she could
turn to see what it was, she felt hands take a hold of her again.  Once
again she was being carried away from the mansion.  Batting at him, she
cried out, "Let me go," as she tried to see the mansion through tear
filled eyes.  Before she knew it, she was dropped to the ground and the
body that had been carrying her fell to the ground beside her.

Willow went to run back to the house when she felt a hand grab her
again.  She turned to scream at the person that was keeping her from her
destination.  Blue eyes peered from a smoke stained face.  Burn marks
covered most of his uncovered body and then some.  When he realized she
wasn't going to move, he fell back to the ground in a laying position and
commented, "Bloody hell, I hate it when I get blown up."  He then smiled
and held up his bag, "But, hey, I got the box."

Falling back to the ground, Willow laughed and wiped her eyes.  Opening
them, she looked up to see Angel, William, Cordelia, and Doyle all
surrounding her.  Looking at Doyle, she asked, "How?"

He held out a hand to her, to help her get up as Angel and William
tended to Spike, who had passed out.  "I get visions from the Powers That
Be."  As she dusted herself off he added, "I'm Doyle, if you didn't
know."

Looking up at him and smiling, she remarked, "I pretty much guessed
that."  As she got back on the ground and kneeled by Spike, a car drove
up the drive.  Faith and Giles jumped out as she asked Angel, "How is
he?"

Cordelia crouched beside her and grabbed his wrist.  Looking at the
others with a serious look on her face, she commented, "He's dead.  I'm
not getting a pulse!"  Looking up at a few disgusted faces, she remarked,
"What?  I was just trying to lighten things up."

Faith stopped by the group and clutched onto Angel's shoulder as she
heard Cordelia's remark.  Grabbing her sides, she started to laugh, even
though the mansion was burning in flames.  Giles on the other hand, stood
and took in the sight of the house burning.  Another car came down the
lane as he remarked, "I hope this isn't your idea of throwing a great
party."

Angel growled at the watcher as Willow ignored the people around her.
Looking at William, she pushed him as she exclaimed, "Help him!  Do
something!"

He looked over at her and commented, "He needs blood for his body to
mend itself."

She looked at him exasperated, "Then give him some."

"It's not that easy.  Angel and I haven't fed enough today to safely
provide him with enough."

Her eyes narrowed.  "That is bullshit, and you know it.  Feed him while
someone goes and picks you up some blood, or move out of the way and let
me do it."

Angel added in on the conversation as Oz and another person Willow
didn't know walked up, "But he can't bite you, right?"

Willow almost growled.  She started going through Spike's duster, until
she found what she was looking for.  Bringing out a small switch blade,
she pulled out one of the blades and started towards her hand, when Angel
grasped her wrist.  Shaking his head, he took the blade away from her and
then bit into his own wrist.  He started to wave it in front of Spike's
face.  After a few seconds, Spike's eyes fluttered open.  He growled as
the wrist passed over.  Looking at Angel, he commented, "You got to be
kidding."

Angel punched his already marked face.  Spike growled and reflexively
brought forth his demon's face.  Once again, Angel placed his wrist over
Spike's face, and Spike started to drink from his sire's alternate.  As
he started to drink, Giles commented, "We need to move to a better
location than the lawn.  As soon as he can walk, get him to my car and we
will figure out where to go."

Oz remarked, "What about my other place?"

Cordelia nodded.  "No one knows about it, except us.  It should be the
safest."  Looking at Willow, she remarked, "Doyle and I will stop by
Willy's and purchase some blood.  It will save you some time."  She got
up and pulled on Doyle's arm.  Together, they rushed to their car, which
had luckily escaped the blast unharmed.

Pulling his arm away, Angel asked Spike, "Can you walk?"

Spike wiped away his face and returned to his human visage.  "Yes, I
think so."

William helped Spike to his feet, as Angel tried to pull himself up.  He
swayed a little and Willow stepped beside him.  Smiling up at him, she
nodded towards Giles's car.  "Here, get in the car so we can get out of
here."  As she opened the door and helped him in the passenger's side,
William helped Spike in the back and then shut the door.  Walking to
where Spike had been, she picked up the bag carrying the pen box and then
asked, "Giles, can Spike and Angel ride with you?"  She looked back at
the house where part of the roof had been blasted onto William's car.
"William's car seems to be in a little trouble."

Giles nodded, "Sure, but how will you get there?"

She turned to Oz, "Can we have a ride, and oh, do you have a phone?"

Oz pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and tossed it to her.  He then
pulled out a set of keys and threw them at the watcher.  "Those are for
the apartment," he commented.  Giles nodded and rushed to the car.

Faith stayed behind, letting Spike have all of the backseat.  As she
walked over to the group, Willow threw the phone to William.  He
automatically knew to call the police, so he stalked away from the group
as Willow asked Faith, "Who else is suppose to show up?"

"Amy and Xander.  They must be running late."

"So, we need someone to wait here for them and the police."

William covered the phone and commented, "You guys go on and I will take
care of everything here."

Willow nodded as she threw her bag over her shoulder and asked Oz, "Are
you ready to go?"

Oz spun his keys around his index finger and nodded.  "Sure Willow,
let's get going."  Faith and Oz piled into the front of Oz's car while
Willow and Oz's friend got in the back.

As soon as they were all in, Oz started the car and backed out of the
driveway.  Willow looked over at the man sharing the back seat with her
and asked, "Who are you?  You don't look familiar."

The man held out his hand and they shook as he introduced himself.  "I'm
Lindsey."

Willow nodded, "Oh, I remember them mentioning you - something about a
court case."

Lindsey smiled as he explained the case.  "Several strange deaths have
occurred in the Sunnydale area, and they all trace back to the
Initiative, except the evidence keeps on going missing.  Not only that,
but they have hired the best lawyers around, so Oz and Angel talked me
into coming down to lead the prosecution against Riley Finn and the rest
of the organization.  I keep on thinking that we are getting close to the
end, but yet they keep on dragging the trial out."

Faith added, "And Riley Finn is out on bail, enjoying the free life as
he and his evil witch stir up trouble.  Matter of fact, it wouldn't
surprise me if they had something to do with this."

Used to her Riley and Tara, Willow couldn't fathom the two attacking in
such a way, but she went ahead to ask, "Why would they blow up the
mansion?  They already got rid of your Willow..."   She snapped her
fingers and then laughed, "With all the craziness, I forgot all about the
box."  Pulling the box out of her bag, Willow opened it up to find a
letter in Giles' chicken scratch.  Reading over the words several times,
she let the message sink in.  The other Willow was inheriting all of her
Wiccan powers, something that she was not experiencing.  Not only that,
but there was the discovered fact that this Tara was a certain type of
demon that may be going through a mini ascension.  Recalling the whole
incident with the mayor, Willow shuddered.

Faith had been watching Willow the whole time.  "What is it, Willow?"

With a slight chill in her voice, Willow asked, "Do you guys realize
what happens to a human that is half Poclypsa demon?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Oz.

Answering, Faith took in a deep breath as things started to piece
together in her mind, "That's what Tara is."

Willow nodded at Faith's understanding.  "A human and Poclypsa hybrid
start to meld when they become of age, which can be anytime from twenty
to twenty-five."

"Coming of age?" asked Oz.

Lindsey, who evidently had researched demons, remarked, "An ascension."

Faith's mouth dropped open.  "An ascension, as in turn into a big snake
ascension and try to devour a whole city on your way to taking over the
world?"

Willow shook her head.  "According to my Giles, this ascension would be
smaller, but on a grand enough scale that she could easily take over the
Hellmouth."

"Shit." commented Faith.

Oz's free hand found her's and grasped it.  "You shouldn't curse, dear."

Willow almost laughed at the funny scene, so much unlike anything she
would see in her universe, but choked it back as reality hit her.  Adding
to what she had said earlier, she commented, "But that is not the only
thing that Giles wrote me about."

"What else did he say?" asked Oz.

Willow frowned.  "He said, that unlike me, your Willow is getting all of
her magical abilities at once.  By tomorrow evening, she will have all of
her powers, and if this Tara is going to go through the ascension, then
it is possible that your Willow could have stopped her.  That has to be
the reason that we were switched."

"Is that all?  How are we suppose to deal with this?" Faith asked as she
turned and looked at Willow again.

Grimacing, Willow answered, "Giles says that they are looking for an
amulet that may be able to transfer her power to me."

Lindsey stepped in the conversation.  "Why not switch you back so Willow
herself can handle it?"

"Because as of now, we can't switch.  The only way that can happen is if
we discover what spell did this in the first place.  Second of all, I
have some of my power, and am fluent in some magic.  My experience makes
it better for me to deal with all the power than the other Willow.  Her
inexperience could kill her, not counting the fact that getting all that
power at once, without any knowledge of it can drive one mad."

Faith shook her head in the front seat and then looked over at Oz, "You
better step on it.  I have a feeling that the mansion was blown up to get
us even farther from discovering what is really going on."

Lindsey added, "And I bet the trial is another one of their diversions."

Oz nodded as he stepped on the gas even more and sped down the road.
"They wanted us to panic, to focus on our loss instead of on them, to
tear us apart even, but we won't break up the group tonight."

Faith smiled and then rolled down the window.  Sticking her head out the
window, she screamed in glee in a very Faithish way and then made a mock
dance as she pulled back inside the car and commented, "For some reason I
love it when they underestimate us."

Willow, still calm in the back, replied, "Just don't forget, we haven't
won yet.  Not only that, but my friends have to pull through for this to
work."

From the front, Oz commented, "If your group has even a slight
similarity to us, then I am sure everything will turn out just fine."
 

Part 9

Riley's car came to a halted screech as it swung in front of what looked
to be an abandoned house.  The three occupants of the car jumped out.
Buffy ran to the trunk as Riley threw the keys to her.  Unlocking it, the
lid opened and she went through the weapons that they had decided on
earlier in the evening.  For Riley, was a crossbow.  Her weapon was a
long handled axe.  She looked at the other two and asked as she closed
the trunk, "You guys ready?"

Willow held out her hand and asked, "Can I borrow that for a minute?"

Buffy reluctantly handed her the axe, afraid that Willow would hurt
herself with the ancient weapon.  Instead, Willow took it carefully.  She
gave Buffy a crooked smile and walked over to a bird house.   Arching one
eyebrow and still looking at Buffy, she swung the axe around in a very
artful manner.  It was like the axe was an extension of her arm.  With
one swift motion, she cut the bird house off of a skinny metal pole.  In
another swift motion, she chopped the pole by the base, leaving behind a
staff.  She handed the axe back to Buffy and then picked up the pole.
Swinging it around a few moments, she got a feel for it and then pointed
to the door.  "Okay, ready to go."

Buffy took off for the door, with Riley and Willow following.  When she
got to it, she slowly opened it and peeked inside.  There were no demons
inside the front room, so they quietly entered.  Willow whispered as they
slowly entered the room and looked around, "So, what is the story here
anyway."

Quickly, Buffy answered as she took down a hall, "Willy said that there
was a demon bragging about stealing his girlfriend's amulet and then
sending her away to a new dimension.  This is the address he gave me."

Riley then asked, "So, what is the plan?"

Buffy smiled and shrugged as she answered, "Ask him if we may please
borrow his amulet?  I don't know."  After answering, she opened one of
the doors in the hall.  As soon as she did, a demon looked up from where
he was sitting in the room and threw a dagger at her.  He missed and
instead it hit the doorframe.  "Or, maybe not," she commented.

The demon yelled out, "Get them."  At his orders, three demons started
towards the door.  Buffy, Riley, and Willow all entered the room.  Buffy
took the one to the left, Riley - the one in the middle, and Willow went
for the one on the right.  Buffy was the first one to finish off her
goon.  As the demon went to punch her, she ducked and kicked out, sending
him back.  He grabbed his stomach in a look of pain.  Then, Buffy brought
the flat of the axe, and hit him in the face.  As his head flung back,
she brought up her palm and busted him in the nose.  The demon staggered,
and Buffy finished him off by swinging the axe into his stomach.  Pulling
the blood stained weapon away, the demon fell to the ground.  Buffy
looked up at the demon's master and started towards him, as she
commented, "And he didn't even get a hit in edgewise."

Riley shot his demon as soon as it came from him.  The demon looked down
at the arrow embedded in his chest and laughed.  He pulled it out and
threw it to the floor.  Gulping as he realized he was out of his league,
Riley backed up and then decided to start with a kick.  He went in for
the kick, but the demon grabbed his foot and twisted it.  Letting the
twist control the motion of his body, he twisted in the air as he yanked
his foot free.  Falling to the floor, he flipped up to find himself face
to face with the demon.

Willow, on the other hand, went at her demon with a vengeance.  Her
first move was to flick one of her wrists.  A very sharp wooden stake
flew at the demon and hit her in the shoulder.  The demon staggered at
the feeling of the stake but came at her swinging, Willow ducked away
from the first blow, but the second one met her jaw.  Using the close
proximity, Willow brought out her leg and tripped the demon.  Swiftly,
she took her pole and lodged it into the demon's chest.  Not even
removing the pole, Willow kept it perpendicular to the floor and used it
as an anchor as she ran around it half way and jumped in the air.

Riley looked to the side quickly and saw Willow's foot coming towards
them.  He backed up just a bit as the sole of her shoe met with the
demons head.  Riley heard a snap, which he decided had to be cheek bone,
as the shoe met.  The demon turned and looked at her as she landed and
raised her other wrist.  Before he realized what was happening, she
flicked the wrist and her extra stake flew out and made its way into the
demon's eye socket.  Riley blanched at the gruesome sight, but used the
moment to pick up his crossbow and smash it against the demons head.  The
demon went down as Riley looked over at Willow. She took her pole out of
her demon and commented, "Maybe you should have taken the female."

Riley twisted his face at her sarcasm as he turned and headed to the far
side of the room where Buffy was talking to the lead demon.  Right as
they reached Buffy, she grabbed a gem from around the demons neck and
yanked it free.  Smiling, she said, "Thank you for the amulet.  Now, I
suggest you leave town before I have to deal with you again."  The demon
just nodded, scared because of the bloody sight before him.

The three walked out of the room and the house.  As they entered the
lawn and walked towards the car, Willow threw the bloody pole to the
side.  Opening the trunk, Buffy looked over at the red head and asked,
"Where did you learn to fight like that?   I mean, our Willow, she can't
fight that well."

Willow got in the back seat and sat quiet as the others put their
weapons away and got into the car.  As Riley started the car, she said
quietly, "On my world, my mother was murdered by a werewolf when I was
only five.  After that, I decided to find out what had really happened.
When I did, I sought out some one to help me destroy the things that had
ruined my life.  My Giles took me in, and started to train me when I was
still in grade school, and when my father died, he adopted me and started
training me to become a watcher.  So, unlike your Willow, I have spent
most of my life training, fighting evil.  It is what I do, it is a part
of me, even though I am not a slayer like you, and nothing will change
that."

Buffy looked over at Riley and stared for a minute.  He looked back,
reading her thoughts and then nodded his head.  Looking back at Willow,
she commented, "Our Willow hardly even has a relationship with her
parents.  They are hardly ever home, but if I'm correct, they got in from
New York this last weekend.  How about we stop by and pick up some books
for Giles?"

Willow nodded, "I think I would like that."

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