*~*~*~*
The shadows of the trees
lining the Sunnydale City Park
*~*~*~*

*~ The blonde haired vampire figuratively held his breath as he watched his love- former love - he reminded himself... fight with the blonde woman. His
hands clentched into tight fists as he saw her gradually losing. He let out a low growl as the woman stabbed his Red through the ribs. He was running
towards them when he saw the silver arc descending. He stopped, seeing her dodge the coming blow and get to her feet. She moved so fast even he had a hard time keeping sight of her.

*~ Seconds later, the blonde's head was flying through the air and her body was falling to the ground. He felt the electricity building and ducked for cover as
the first of the lightening crashed into the kneeling figure of his former lover. It seemed like forever before it stopped and he was able to stumble to his feet.

*~ He fell to his knees next to Willow, his hands shaking violently as he gently rolled her over onto her back. He couldn't hear a heartbeat! He could smell
her blood, and the blood of the other woman, but he couldn't detect any signs of life. "No, Red," he whispered, frantically feeling for a pulse, knowing he
couldn't find one. He hugged her body close to him, sobbing into her neck. It was too late to turn her like he'd planned.

*~ He'd thought it had been horrible when he'd thought she was dead the first time, but this was different. It went... deeper somehow. Now, he had immediate proof that she was dead. She was in his arms, her blood staining his clothes, her trembling... Wait... trembling?

*~ The small redhead gasped, letting the air out in a short scream as her body arching as the life flowed back into her. Her green eyes were wide as she gasped for breath, her hands clentching and unclentching in the material of his black t-shirt.

*~ "Oh, Goddess," she whispered, her head reeling from the experience. "Oh... Oh Goddess... Duncan didn't say anything about it being so... painful." Her voice was breathy as she tried to deal with it all. This was her second death. She'd almost forgotten how painful it had been the first time. Not to mention the
quickening...

*~ "Red," a distintive British voice cut through the fog and she froze, holding her breath as she realized just who was holding her so tight. Her emerald eyes
lifted to his icy blue ones.

*~ "Spike?" she breathed, drinking in the sight of his chisled features. Trembling fingers touched the skin on his face. "Oh, Goddess, it is you."

*~ "It's me, luv," he whispered, speaking more softly than she had ever heard him speak. "I'm here."

*~ "Goddess, Spike, I missed you," her voice broke as tears welled up in her eyes. "I- I... So much has happened..."

*~ "Willow!" Buffy's voice cut through the moment and Spike's face tightened in anger.

*~ "Fucking Slayer," the blonde vampire cursed. He looked down at Willow's pale face and tucked a strand of blood-red hair behind her ear. He pressed a hard kiss to her lips, then disentangled himself from her, standing up. "I'll be back for you, Little Red. Believe me, I'm not leaving again."

*~ Willow fell back on the ground, closing her eyes again as she heard the rapidly approaching footsteps of the Slayer and Cordelia. She started to chuckle
softly as Duncan's words from the previous evening came back to her. Boy had he been right... She'd had a long day... a *very* long day.
 

Part 12 - Drama

*~*~*~*
Angel's Apartment
Two hours later
*~*~*~*

*~ "Where's Willow," Angel asked immediately, walking into his apartment with Duncan and Methos and seeing Cordelia and Buffy, but not the slender redhead.

*~ "Sleeping," Cordelia said quietly. "She was challenged tonight and won. And she saw Spike."

*~ "Shit," Angel cursed, causing both Cordy and Buffy to look at him strangely. "I knew I should've stayed here. Was she hurt?"

*~ "I'm fine," the redhead in question replied sleepily, running her hand through her hair, making it even more disheveld than before. Her smile wavered
slightly, "I'm tired and I-... Oh, Angel..." Her voice cracked and her face fell. The dark haired vampire crossed the floor in a flash, holding the suddenly
sobbing redhead tight.

*~ "Shh, you're okay," he whispered soothingly, rubbing her back in slow circles.

*~ "It hurt so b-bad to see him again," she sobbed, holding onto her best friend like he was a lifeline. "He l-left me before, and now he's back..."

*~ "Did he say anything to you?" Angel asked, his tone carefully controlled. He couldn't describe what he was feeling. Anger at his childe for showing up again and ruining her strong demeanor, despair because it was clear that she still loved said childe, and resignation that he would never hold that spot in her life.

*~ "H-he said he'd be back for me," she said, pulling away to look at him with red-rimmed emerald eyes. "He... He said he wasn't going to leave this time."

*~ "Do you want him to leave?" Angel asked, wiping her tears away gently. "Because it's up to you, Little One."

*~ "I- I don't know," she whispered, sniffling a little. "I really don't know. I love him so much, Angel. I really do. But he's chippless now, he can hurt people."

*~ "Do you really think he'd hurt *you*?"

*~ "No," Willow replied quietly. "But you can't tell with Spike. I mean, look at all the times he's tried to kill me. And Buffy. And Xander. And you, for that matter. He sent you to hell. He let Dru almost kill me that one time."

*~ "Keep in mind, Wills, that he *is* a demon," Buffy interrupted their not-so-private moment. She tried to keep her tone as gentle as possible, but her annoyance and instinctive prejudice showed. She was annoyed because Angel was so close to Willow while he had spoken to her only twice since the day before. "A soul-less demon, at that."

*~ Willow's face tightened in the familiar anger as she turned her gaze on her friend. "Let's not go into that now, Buffy," she snapped. "Remember the last time we got into this arguement, Slayer?"

*~ Buffy had the grace to look sheepish as she examined her fingernails. But she couldn't resist, "I was just trying to warn you, geez. I worry about you, and I don't want to see you hurt."

*~ Willow's green eyes narrowed. Angel squeezed her arms one last time before letting go of her to step back. "Willow, this is Adam Pierson," he introduced
the newcomer to their little group, using the immortal's more recent alias, not knowing his real name. "Adam, this is Willow Rosenburg, Buffy Summers, and Cordelia Chase."

*~ "Nice to meet you," Methos grinned crookedly. "I'm Macleod's friend."

*~ "You looked taller in the vision," Cordelia stated, her dark eyes sizing up the man in front of her. "And better dressed."

*~ "And you must be the Seer in the group," Methos returned, his tone dry as he took in her perfected appearance. "I would've thought you'd look... smarter."

*~ Cordelia's eyes narrowed. Seeing the former May Queen about to make a cutting remark, Duncan jumped in, "He's going to help me with Willow's training
until we figure out why we need him here."

*~ Willow blushed as she looked over at the other immortal. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that drama-queen stunt," she apologized. "I've had a long
day."

*~ "No problem," Methos answered. "We all have some of those. Hell, I've had a long couple hundred years." Or thousand, he added mentally.

*~ "Well, come on in," Angel suggested, waving toward the comfortable looking living room. "Get comfortable."

*~ "Not too comfy, though," Cordelia said, some of her pique gone, but there was a bit of coolness still in her tone as she glared at Methos. "As soon as Wills
gets ready, we were headed over to Giles' place. He's calling Xander as we speak to let him in on what's happening."

*~ Willow nodded and went back into her bedroom to gather clothes for her shower. "I'm getting in the shower everybody. You have fair warning."

*~ "What does that mean?" Methos arched his eyebrows over at Duncan.

*~ "Don't run any water. The last time Angel started the diswasher and nearly scalded our resident witch."

*~ "You nearly scalded Cordelia?"

*~ "Hey!" the former cheerleader glared even harder, her original dislike of the man raising tenfold. "Willow's the witch, not me."

*~ "Sorry, I misunderstood the word," Methos smirked over at her, enjoying annoying her. As long as he had someone to annoy, he'd be fine.
 

Part 13 - Meanwhile

*~*~*~*
Portland, Oregon
*~*~*~*

*~ Xander Harris stared at the phone disbelieving what he'd just heard. Willow was alive and back in Sunnydale. If it had been anyone but Giles, he'd of
told them they were crazy and he wasn't buying it. He'd seen her body, he'd touched the gaping wound at her throat. It had been real, she'd been dead. But it was Giles who'd called, and Xander sure as hell knew that when dealing with the Hellmouth, anything was possible. They needed him back in Sunnydale, so he was going back.

*~ Willow wasn't dead. He felt a goofy smile spread across his face, right before he turned and pounced on Anya, who had just nodded off to sleep. Since they'd moved away from the Hellmouth and quit helping save the world, they'd both started keeping 'normal' hours. Meaning, they'd go to bed around ten, get up about seven, go to their respective jobs, come home, do other 'normal' stuff, then go to bed.

*~ "Anya, Giles just called! Guess what?"

*~ "The wicked slayer bitch is dead?" Anya sounded entirely *too* hopeful.

*~ "Nope. Willow's alive," he grinned, kissing her soundly. Anya smiled, glad to see the spark back in her mate's eyes. And deep down, she was happy to hear the news too. She'd liked the little redhead too... deep down where no one could ever know otherwise.

*~ "Does that mean we have to go back to Sunnyhell," she asked, losing a bit of her smile. She'd go wherever Xander wanted, but she didn't really want to
put up with the slayer and her little mind games.

*~ "If you don't mind," Xander looked at her with his big, dark eyes, and she knew her answer. She'd put up with the group of boring misfits before, and she could do it again. But only for Xander.

*~ "I don't mind," she replied. "As long as we have time to have sex before we go. And we don't have to stay at your parents' house, with Giles, or with Slutty."

*~ "We'll stay in a hotel if we have to," Xander promised, kissing her wetly, "And I always have time to have sex with you." The ex-demon was satisfied with
his answer and was soon satisfied in... other ways...

*~*~*~*~
Sunnydale
Spike's crypt
*~*~*~*~

*~ The blonde vampire raged through the underground crypt, tossing furniture and whatever else got in his way. "Fucking Slayer," he cursed, kicking at an
end-table, sending it and the lamp flying through the air. "Stupid bitch! She's going to die, violently! And then the bloody Watcher, then Chubs if I can ever find his sissy ass, the fucking cheerleader, my bleeding sire, and that fucker that touched her!"

*~ "What's wrong, Spikey?" a familiar, whiney voice stopped him in his tracks and made him growl in further annoyance. He whirled around to glare at
Harmony, who had artfully arranged herself on the only remaining chair intact.

*~ "What's wrong?" his voice was dangerously low as he stalked towards her. Harmony, being the idiot she was, didn't pick up on his true rage. She smiled as he came closer. Now, anyone with half a brain would pick up on the barely restrained violence and rage he held just beneath the surface and would've booked it out of there as fast as their feet could carry them. Harmony... well, we all know what little of a brain she has. She unwittingly thought he was playing... He would *really* want to hurt her... Would he? (insert evil laugh here)

*~ "I'll tell you what's bloody well wrong," he growled, stopping mere inches away from her, his hands wrapped tightly around the armrests of her chair. "The
woman I thought was dead is alive. I saw her for the first time since before her death, and before I can even kiss her hello, the FUCKING SLAYER interrupts us. Then, I find out she's staying with my FUCKING SIRE!"

*~ Harmony's lip started to stick out in a pout. "You're yelling at me," she whined.

*~ "And I'll bloody well keep yelling at you," Spike shouted, making her flinch. He grasped her throat with one hand, his grip painfully tight. "I can bloody well
do whatever the fuck I want, Harm. And there's not a thing you can do about it."

*~ He let her go with a shove, sending the chair flying backwards and Harmony skidding across the floor on her ass. "You love her, don't you," Harmony asked, her voice a grating whine. "You don't want me anymore."

*~ "I've loved her a lot longer than I've even known you," Spike didn't even bother turning around to look at her. He paced the floor, his mind already on how he was going to get his Red away from her guards. "And I never really wanted you, bitch. First it was because I couldn't have Dru, then it was because I couldn't have my witch."

*~ For once in her life *and* unlife, Harmony was silent as she watched her sire pace the length of the crypt. Without saying a word, she got up and left.
Spike didn't even notice she'd left. His mind was filled with visions of his Little Red and what he was going to do when they were finally together again. He
smiled wickedly and nodded once. Yeah, after he killed the rest of them, the little witch would be with him, exactly where she belonged.
 

Part 14 - Discussion

*~*~*~*~
Giles's Apartment
Later that evening
*~*~*~*~

*~ "And that's what was in my vision," Cordelia explained for the ninth time since having it in LA. "Willow, Spike, Angel, Duncan, Adam, and Xander, a big
fight in a warehouse, a lot of blood and dust. Xander died, and Giles, Buffy, and Anya were hurt."

*~ "So, we try to prevent this from happening?" Duncan asked, looking from the ex-cheerleader to the Watcher, to Angel.

*~ "If we can, yes," Giles said, taking his glasses off and cleaning them on his shirt, more out of nervous habit than anything.

*~ "What if we can't?" Willow asked quietly from her usual perch at the dining room table, the only thing missing was her laptop, which was still at Angel's
apartment. "I for one, don't plan on having Xander get hurt, let alone die. If I have to lock him in a closet with a doberman standing guard, I will."

*~ "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Angel said, moving to stand behind her chair. He rested his hand on her shoulder and she leaned back into the
comfort he offered.

*~ Methos cleared his throat and everyone looked at him expectantly, "Now what in blazes am I here for? I mean, it looks like you all have everything under
control."

*~ "Visions aren't always correct," Cordelia snapped, still not over their little clash earlier. "You can always go back where you came from."

*~ Methos smirked and moved to plop down on the sofa next to her. "In that case, I'll stay *right here* and be your personal hell."

*~ Cordy's eyes narrowed and she growled in annoyance. Everyone laughed as she got up with a huff and grabbed Willow and their jackets. "We're leaving. If any of you, but Adam, needs anything, we'll have my cell."

*~ "Should someone go with them?" Angel asked as the front door slammed shut.

*~ Duncan shook his head. "No, Wills can take care of anything that comes along. Besides, Cordy's got her cell phone."

*~ "Well, we're off to get Xander and Anya from the airport," Buffy sighed, getting to her feet. Riley followed her example and grabbed his jacket.

*~ "A-are you sure that's a good idea, Buffy?" Giles asked, his eyebrows raising.

*~ "Why not?" Buffy asked, oblivious.

*~ "Well," Giles hesitated. "You *are* the reason he left in the first place."

*~Buffy looked a little hurt, but waved it off with a wave of her hand. "Oh, he's probably over it by now. We'll be back in a few hours." Riley followed his
girlfriend without arguement, automatically getting in the driver's seat of his car.

*~ "Well, I don't know if I'd want to see that or not," Angel commented with a wry smile.

*~ "Y-yes," Giles agreed, before turning his attention to Duncan. "So, you're immortal, Duncan, how old are you?" And thus the discussion was on, all three
getting involved in the question-answer session. The Immortals learned about vampires and the other branch of the Watcher's Council, while the vampire and former Watcher learned more about Immortals. All in all, it was a long and very interesting dialogue.
 

Part 15 - Harmony

*~*~*~*
Sunnydale Mall
*~*~*~*

*~ Cordelia was in her 'I'm pissed, so I shop' mode, and Willow was just along for the ride. "Do you believe him? God, what a freaking ego," the brunette
ranted, shoving the blouses on the rack back so that she could shift through them easier. "I wish there was some way to complain to the PTBs, then they'd sure get an earfull."

*~ Willow laughed and shook her head, slowly shifting through a rack of sweaters. "Honestly, would you give the visions back, knowing they help so many people?"

*~ Cordelia thought about it a second, pausing in her relentless persual of clothing. Finally, she shook her head. "No, I wouldn't trust anyone else with them.
It's weird, but I'm glad to finally have a role in this whole redemption thing. I've done and said some horrible things in my life, and I'm really sorry for it now. But I *like* doing this, helping Angel help people. In a way, I'm reaching for some kind of redemption myself."

*~ Willow nodded, "I know what you mean."

*~ "You don't have anything to atone for, Wills," Cordelia moved her assault to another rack. "You've always given everything, even when it left you with
nothing. Shit, you're friends with me now, even after all the hell I put you through growing up."

*~ "Yeah, but you've changed. You're not the same Cordelia Chase you where when we were kids," Willow said, pulling a black sweater off the rack. "And I'm
not the same Willow Rosenburg I was when we were kids. We've all changed. Even Xander."

*~ "Yeah," Cordelia smiled. "Remember when Xander threw that soda all over my new white jeans in Junior High? God, I had to throw them away, they were so stained!"

*~ "That was an accident!" Willow giggled. "Sort of..."

*~ "Ha! I *knew* it wasn't an accident! What about-" Cordelia started but was interrupted by an all-too-familiar voice.

*~ "Well, well, if it isn't Cordelia Chase and the wannabe cool chick, Willow Rosenburg," Harmony sneered, she and two of her larger minions blocking their exit from the department store.

*~ "Wannabe cool chick?" Willow repeated incredulous. "What world are you living in, Harmony?"

*~ "Still in grade-school," Cordelia answered, arching a cool eyebrow. "Nice leather."

*~ "Thanks, I bought them- hey!" the not-so-scary vamp, stopped herself just in time. "You guys are coming with us."

*~ "Oh, really?" Willow replied, motioning Cordelia behind her. "Who's gonna make us?" -Great comeback, Wills- she thought with an inward grimace. She was going to have to go to Buffy for lessons on witty quips under pressure. Fortunately, Harmony didn't really matter much in the scheme of things, so Willow
didn't feel to bad about her lack of comebacks.

*~ "If you don't, Bruno and Chains are going to kill a few salespeople," Harmony said, matter-of-factly.

*~ "Bruno and Chains?" Cordelia's lip curled in disgust. "Thug much?"

*~ The taller one growled, slipping into game face.

*~ "Let's take this outside, shall we?" Willow said calmly.

*~ "No, if we go outside, there'll be no hostages," Harmony pouted.

*~ "I'll make you a deal," Willow said with a slow smile. "If I beat your minions by myself, you let me and Cordelia go. And if I don't, you take us."

*~ "Wills," Cordelia hissed, eyeing the sheer size of said minions, her grip almost painful on Willow's arm.

*~ "Easy, Cordy," Willow smiled reassuringly at her friend. "Very, very easy."

*~ "Done." Harmony said before thinking, as always. She motioned for Willow and Cordelia to go in front of them. Willow took Cordelia's hand and drug her with her.

*~ "What are you *doing*," Cordelia hissed, careful to keep her voice low. "They're *huge* there's no way you can take them!"

*~ "Duncan," Willow said simply, purposely not going into details. Cordelia shut up, finally catching on to what Willow was saying. There were no rules against swords. And she'd bet her last dollar that the minions and Harmony weren't carrying any kind of weapon.

*~ Once outside, Willow turned to face the minions, who were playing rock-paper-scissors to determine who was first to take her on. She removed her long black jacket and handed it to Cordy. She did a few stretches while she was waiting, then jumped up and down in place, getting the blood moving freely. "Come on," she snapped finally. "I don't care who goes first, as long as you get your asses in gear!"

*~ One stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "Prepare to hurt, bitch."

*~ "I'm so scared," Willow purred, falling into a fighting stance that was becoming second-nature. Cordelia shivered, reminded suddenly of the vamp-Willow from the other world. The minion swung a beefy fist and connected with air as Willow ducked, bringing her sword out of the spine-sheath and cutting off his head in one swift swing.

*~ She laughed at the looks of dawning horror on the other minion's face. "Oh yeah... I'm good. Ready?"

*~ "N-no," this one stammered, his face paling even more as he backed away.

*~ "You cheated," Harmony whined, stomping her foot. "I didn't say anything about knives!"

*~ "Sword," Willow corrected. "And you didn't say I couldn't use it."

*~ "Well, I'm saying it now," Harmony stomped her foot again. "No swords!"

*~ Willow sighed and handed Cordelia her sword. "Hold this for a second." Cordelia took it, holding it awkwardly, but she was glad for the protection it
offered if things went bad.

*~ The minion rushed her, using the same tatics as the last one. Willow sidestepped and placed a kick to his lower back, making him stumble. He kept his balance though and turned, swinging his fist, catching her in the face and sending her flying back. She hit the building with a sickening crack, dislocating her
shoulder. She got back to her feet slowly, wiping at the blood on her face. Her shoulder was screaming in pain, protesting even the smallest movement.

*~ Cordy screamed and went to rush to her friend's rescue, but was stopped by Harmony, who surprisingly saw it coming and pushed the brunette to the ground. "I wanna see her get hurt," Harmony pratically danced in place and clapped her hands as her minion and the redhead squared off again.

*~ "Is that all you have?" Willow taunted, spitting the pooling blood on the ground. "'Cause I thought you'd be... better. But then all you *minions* are a lot dumber than you look... and that's really saying something."

*~ The minion rushed her again and she sidestepped, kicking him as hard as she could in the stomach as he passed. Not giving him time to retalliate, she pulled a stake out of her jeans pocket and slammed it into his back. Waving her good hand in front of her face to dispell the dust, she turned to a scowling Harmony.

*~ "Next?"

*~ Harmony squealed in rage, stomping both feet. "Damnit! I *said* no CHEATING!"

*~ "No cheating?" Willow arched a cool eyebrow. "No cheating? You didn't say anything about no stakes. You said no swords, but you forgot stakes, and I used it. Quit blubbering and crawl back into the grave you crawled out of, or let me relieve you of your undead status."

*~ "This isn't over!" the furious bottle-blonde promised heatedly, her game face twisting her features. "I *will* have Spike back, permanently, and there isn't anything your little geek ass can do about it!" With that less than menacing exit-line, she stomped off back into the mall.

*~ "Wow, that was great!" Cordelia bounced back to her feet. "You were *awesome*, girl-" She rushed over to Willow's side just as she collapsed.

*~ "I don't feel so good, Cordy," the redhead said softly, tears she'd refused to show rolling down her cheeks. "My arm hurts..."

*~ "Okay, I'm calling Angel and Duncan," Cordelia said, reaching for her cell phone and dialing first Giles' number, then Angel's. "Hello, Angel? It's me.
Willow's hurt..."
 

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