~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 21~
Spike had been a bit surprised at Willow's choice of location. She'd chosen the old mansion on Crawford Street, where Angelus had laired, the place where Acathala had nearly sucked the world into hell. Xander hadn't been very happy about it either, calling it a security nightmare and muttering about ugly memories. Spike had found himself in full agreement for once.
"Luv, why this place? I can understand not wanting to use the dorm, or Tara's place, but... why here?" He'd had to ask, not quite noticing the plaintive tone to his voice.
She'd looked at him, her eyes looking a dark greenish blue and weighted with everything. "Partly because past events have shown that if there's violence, strange lights... even screaming here, nobody will report anything, and nobody will investigate. I don't need to worry about the plumbing, wiring, or walls getting damaged if we're attacked, because I don't live here. And I know there's somewhere that I can crawl over to and pass out on if the spell leaves me exhausted."
"You're using logic again, Red. Think the great poof will get upset if his house gets ruined?" He'd wondered about that, imagining Angel throwing a fit, or Angelus on a rampage.
"If he was that worried, he should have sold it before he left Sunnydale. Besides, if he complains, it will mean we're all still around after this, so we'll have defeated Glory. I think she's a bit more dangerous than Angel or Angelus, so he can just... stuff it." Willow had frowned, eyes going dark with anger and unhappiness.
"Just let him stay gone, we don't need him sweeping back to save the day." Xander's voice had carried bitterness.
He'd waited for a moment when Willow was out of earshot, holding a board in place for Xander before asking the question. "So, not that I'm objecting in the least, but what's your objection to the poof?"
"Actually, Angel just broods way to much. He's all 'woe, I'm a vampire, guilty moping'. Although Angelus was a lot worse, so I'm definitely in favor of Angel over Angelus. It's more the way things change when he's here than the guy himself. When he's around, Wills and I aren't good enough anymore. It's got to be Angel on patrol, cause we can't handle it. Got to be Angel's warning of danger that directs the research, got to be Angel this and Angel that, and the only one that Buffy has any time for is Wills. That's just so that Wills can nod and 'uhhuh' at the right places while being told all about Angel. It makes me glad that he's gone." Xander's words had cracked open a glimpse, revealing the pain inside.
Xander felt that he was pushed aside in favor of Angel... Bloody sure that Spike knew how that felt. "That never does sit well. At least..." He shook his head, deciding not to offer the comment that 'at least it wasn't the bird he was shagging mooning over Angelus'. Somehow, he didn't think that the comparison would go well. He felt unsettled by this glimpse of the inner Xander, especially since he understood that pain so very well. "Buffy has a lot of problems. Angel seems to be caught right in the middle of most of them."
They'd grumbled a bit more about Angel, and about Buffy's issues. Xander had suddenly stopped, blinking at the hammer in his hands before frowning at Spike. "This... this is what Wills would call a bonding moment." He'd looked dismayed.
"ahhh.... yeah." Spike hadn't known quite what to do about it. A bonding moment... mention of problems, emotions, some sort of issue, leading to greater understanding... ugggh, they were having a bonding moment. "It doesn't mean that we're friends."
Xander had relaxed just a little bit at that. "Right. You're still the evil dead. Why am I even doing this again?"
"Because of Willow. And because your bird volunteered you to be here not there." Spike had grinned a little, noticing that the declaration of his evilness had lacked some of it's usual intensity.
"Right, for Willow. Which reminds me, chipped wonder. If you hurt her, if you break her heart, you'd better pull a Riley and leave the country, or else I'm kicking your ass. She deserves better, but for some reason unknown to man, she seems to like you." There had been a core of almost feral threat to those words, although none of them were laughing. For a moment, it was almost as if there was something more than mortal to Xander, more than human menace and threat...
Maybe that was why instead of telling him to piss off, he gave a serious response. "I don't know what's going on with Red. But... I like her. I don't want to hurt her."
They'd continued the work in comfortable quiet, with no further discussion of serious issues. Nothing more about Willow, or their various emotions. They continued to patch holes, set up alarms, and some creative booby-traps in case of an attack.
"Even if the poof comes back, you're capable, Harris. This is some good work, better than most lairs I've had." Spike had offered the compliment partly to lighten the mood, and partly because it was the truth. And maybe that was part of the reason the Slayer had been able to thwart him so easily, not enough security...
"Thanks, I think." Xander looked at him, as if testing his sincerity. "So, how is this supposed to work anyhow?"
Spike considered how to answer that for a moment. "Buffy goes on patrol, and hopefully finds Glory. Then, Buffy is supposed to keep Glory occupied, most likely by getting her ass kicked. Meanwhile, Tara and Giles start the spell to confine Glory, which I don't know the details of. Willow gets the other spell, one that's supposed to pull power away from Glory."
"Where will the power go? And what happens to William after this is over?" Xander's voice was low, almost as if he hadn't intended to speak at all.
"Not sure about the power. As for William..." He looked at Xander, wondering how much he'd figured out. "What about him?"
"Come on, bleach boy, I'm not a complete idiot. 'William Exeter, I used to be him' remember? I was there. What happens to him when all this is over with?" Xander was frowning.
Spike sighed, wondering when he'd started to care about these people. "We don't know. Rupert's found about a half dozen possibilities, and we can't figure out which it'll be. He might be sent back to London in the past, he might stay here. He might get sent back and time change, or it might be like he'd never left. We bloody well don't know."
"Well that just bites." Xander shook his head, as if considering the stress that uncertainty might be placing on Spike and William. "Umm... not literally, at least, maybe not."
"Pretty much." Spike had just nodded, wishing that he had some idea.
~Part: 22~
Buffy moved through the streets, feeling far more nervous than usual. Giles had masterminded a complicated plan, assisted by Willow and his cousin William, who was sort of cute in a nerdy sort of way. Their plan should get rid of Glory permanently, or for a few thousand years, they were a bit iffy on that point. Either way would work for Buffy. She just didn't like her part of the plan. 'Go find Glory and keep her busy' had been what Giles told her. Right... go get the snot kicked out of her by the overly perky evil bitch with expensive clothing. It wasn't fair - how come evil got all the perks? She'd really hoped that she could find time to try to have a cup of coffee or something with Ben, the cute intern that she'd met when her mom had gone to the hospital. But no, once again, Slaying interfered with the idea of a real life.
She knew that if she did run into Glory, things would get painful. Last time, she'd been tossed around like a rag doll, and almost had her ribs broken. It had been painful, and there would have been no way to hide it from her mom if she hadn't already known about the whole Slayer thing. The alternative, Buffy not finding Glory before the whole magical stuff started meant that Glory would go hurt the others. That sucked even more.
Either way, tonight was going to hurt. She didn't like it. Destiny sucked.
She felt something prickle against her skin, not a real, solid something, but a presence. It bubbled and fizzed in a painful way. She knew who it was immediately - Glory. Turning, she saw Glory walking down the street, a dress in shimmering red with lighter red gauzy layers underneath that flared around her legs and high heeled strappy sandals. It was a good outfit. Buffy wondered just how much those heels would hurt.
"Slayer! There you are, I've been wondering when you would come to your senses. Tell me where my Key is and I won't have to hurt you." Her voice sounded almost too perky, like she'd had a killer cup of coffee.
Buffy felt her stomach go tight, and her mouth tasted sour. For Willow, and Giles, and Xander... "I'm not telling you anything! I'd rather destroy the Key than give it to you!"
She barely saw the blow coming before she flew into the side of a car, the impact crumpling the door and setting of the car alarm. Yeah, this was going to hurt. Badly.
Buffy just hoped that she could buy them enough time.
~Part: 23~
Willow began the spell, centering herself as she shifted her perceptions from the physical to the energies that made up everything. She could see Xander, all golden brown and worried, and Spike, swirls of red and dark amber and threads of blue. She could feel the distinct flavor of the mansion, a useful reference if she had to search far to locate Glory. She sent her 'self' farther out, searching for the seething mass of dark red, laced with what had looked like dark green bubbles.
She knew that Glory would feel it when the spell began, would feel her trying to take the power away. And Glory would probably be furious. Time to start hoping that this would work, because if it didn't... well, Willow was quite content to wait until she was peacefully old to learn what happened after you die. Somehow, she didn't think that would happen if this failed.
Ah! There was the seething blob of dark red, with the dark green bubbles like the fizz in a soda. And Buffy, her energy all gold and white, streaked with purple... She'd located her target, it was time to begin this. She focused her will, and reached out with what felt like a hand, touching the edges of Glory's energy, 'grabbing' one of the 'threads' of energy.
It burned, like grabbing a hot coal, and she winced, wanting to pull away, wanting to have someone make everything better. But there wasn't anyone who could do that. She couldn't stop. Instead, she began to wind the thread around her hand, trying to imagine the color changing from the red of drying blood to her own leafy green. As the color slowly changed, the portion that was green soaked into her, leaving only the blood hued tangle. Willow kept unraveling the threads from the mass that was Glory, maintaining a mass of red over her 'hand' even as she absorbed the power.
It began to hurt, almost like her stomach was too full, except that this was power, not food. But oh wow, the way it made her feel... like she was invincible, like she could do ANYTHING... The white and gold pattern of Buffy was getting weaker... the energy fading. Maybe she could send some of this energy to Buffy, and that would give her more room to pull more from Glory... She gathered a 'handful' of energy, hoping that it was enough to make a difference, and sent it into the pattern that was Buffy.
On the street, Buffy picked herself up from the wall that Glory's kick had just sent her into, the pain suddenly gone. Her arm was fully functional again, not numb and sluggish as it had been since hitting that car. She smiled as she launched an attack against Glory...
She kept winding away the blood colored threads of power, so caught up in pulling, absorbing, and occasionally sending a portion of the power away into various places that she lost track of time. She'd strengthened the wards on the Summers and Rosenberg homes, the dorm rooms, Tara's apartment, Xander's apartment, and the one she'd placed on Spike's car.
She didn't dare send any of the power to Giles or Tara, fearing that it might disturb their ritual. But she sent some to Anya, and some to Xander, some to Spike, and several times she sent power into the ties that kept Angel's soul in his body. She didn't want Angelus to come back.
Willow was beginning to panic, no longer certain where she could send any of this power, certain that the wards couldn't take any more, uncertain if her friends could take more of it... wait, Buffy was hurt again, send some there.... Buffy... wait, Joyce had been in the hospital, maybe she could shape some of this into a healing spell and send it to Joyce... yes... the balancing of it made her feel like she was gritting her teeth, but the lessening in pressure that it caused was well worth it. She only felt like she might pop, not like she was going to right now.
But there was still more energy, far too much power for the fragile net of blue and orange that was the spell Giles and Tara had shaped. Willow gritted her teeth, pulling again, and twisted some of the power, still half red and half greenish into a cord, 'threading' it into a 'needle' and began to sew up the rip that was the Hellmouth. Part of her was aghast that she could even consider trying this, but... It was a place to send the power. And every little bit that could slow the Hellmouth from opening was good. Threads of green and red...
She began to sense something else in the pattern of Glory - another shape. One that was blue and green, something that felt like a man. She wondered how he had got there, what sort of situation that was... Something tightened, the blue and orange net settling over Glory with a painful jolt. Nerves that she'd thought burned quiet screamed again.
She changed her strategy. Instead of yanking at a specific thread, she scraped at any energy that had escaped the 'net', gathering it to make it her own. Mustn't let Glory ooze her way out of the net...
There was a snapping sensation, and the 'net' of Giles and Tara's creation pulled tight, all of the Glory-ness trapped inside of it, and pulsed. There was still Buffy, and the blue-green pattern... But Willow had taken enough from Glory that the trapping of Glory's essence created a backlash. That backlash was just the final bit too much, and she screamed, everything going black once again.
~Part: 24~
Spike had wondered at first if they would be able to notice when Willow worked her magic. At first, it had been nothing very interesting, just a single red head sitting in a circle of salt and herbs, murmuring something over and over. Then, her words had slowed, fading until she just sat there, her heart rate slowed, barely breathing.
"She's... doing something. Best be ready, she can't protect herself like that." The sight of her so still had not been pleasant, tugging at something inside of him.
Xander had looked, eyes murky with worry. "Whoa, that looks... pretty freaky. So, we wait, and if anything tries to bother her, we kick it's ass. So, do we hope that we sit here all worried and unable to do a damn thing, or do we hope something comes and tries to eat us so that it can get to Willow?"
"Pretty much the philosophical question of the moment." He'd looked away, lighting a cigarette as a cover for the movement. He wasn't sure that he liked understanding anything from Xander.
Things had gone quietly for a while, before a group of minions had invaded. It was up for debate if they had been drawn by the power of the ritual or just random coincidence, and they hadn't bothered trying to find out. They had just fought to keep the minions away from Willow. Xander had came through it rather worse than Spike, bruises forming over his body, lip split and bleeding.
"No pitiful minion is going to hurt Wills." Xander's voice had been determined. "They have to go through me first... and after they drop me like the shmutz that I am, they have to go through you."
He'd almost managed not to laugh, but the chuckle that had escaped had only prompted a mock glare.
"No, seriously, I think they might be a bit stronger than I am. Almost makes me wish I could get a bit of a boost from somewhere. But Wills the wonder witch is currently pretty busy..." NO sooner had the words emerged than a dark green energy swirled around Xander, smelling like cinnamon and lightning and blood. His body had arced, as if in extreme pain or pleasure, and he'd gasped before collapsing to the ground.
Spike had felt confusion surge through him. "Xander? What the bloody hell was that?"
"No clue..." Xander had stood up, his movement fluid, more graceful than Spike had ever seen him. His eyes still held some of that green glow, and the bruises were fading, almost gone. "BUt I think it was Willow."
"Willow? But she's still..." He glanced into the open area, seeing the circle that enclosed Willow, the line now glowing pale green, the candles and oil lamps through the room now lit, the candle flames the same pale green. "When did you light the candles in there?"
"I didn't light them. I thought you did." Xander's voice held some puzzlement. "And... I can smell the minions now... more than before. Something's coming..."
There was a clatter and a dull smacking sound as something triggered one of the booby-traps, followed by an angry snarl. There was a faint smell that was reminiscent of mildew and oil.
"Be ready." Spike felt himself tensing, uncertain what the approaching thing would be. A sideways glance at Xander proved most startling as well. Xander had crouched, not like a soldier, but almost like a hunter, and there was a low growl coming from him. His eyes still glowed faintly green.
The creature looked almost like a shambling monster from a bad fifties horror movie, with slimy tendrils wriggling along it's back and almost rubbery looking mottled flesh in the colors of mildew and rotting wood. It stank, the scent making Spike feel almost light headed and causing a desperate urge to sneeze. The tentacles left welts, and they burned, itching furiously. As if there were tiny bits of wood embedded in the injury.
Whatever had happened to Xander seemed to have given him a strength boost, because it left him able to grab the thing, pulling it away from Spike and flinging it against a stone wall. While it was stunned, they each hurled an oil lamp against it, the lamps shattering, spreading oil over the thing's body. The flames caught quickly, and the thing burned quickly, apparently highly flammable.
Both of them stood as far away as they could, eyes watering, hands over their noses. Their bruises were fading.
"That thing smells worse dead than it did alive..." Xander's comment was choked out. "What was that anyhow?"
Spike had shrugged, now sneezing from the smoke. "Not sure... Ah CHOO! Maybe Rupert's books ahhh... ehh choo."
"Maybe.. maybe we can check down the other hallway..." Xander had tugged at one of his arms, urging him away from the stench and smoke.
The idea appealed, and they checked elsewhere. Eventually, the sneezing and watering eyes faded, and they felt better. Spike felt something just moments before his body was wreathed in crackling green energy, the scents of cinnamon, blood and lightning filling his awareness. For a moment, everything was drowning in sensation, his nerves on overload. Pain/pleasure, heat/cold the sensations were overwhelming, and his muscles spasmed, trying to make sense of this. It was as if raw power was being poured into him...
He was on the floor, muscles quivering, gasping for air, for calm. "What the hell... I didn't even ask..."
"Yeah. It was... something. Too much something, except that both of us came through it in one piece. Your eyes are glowing green, you know." Xander glanced at him, a half smile on his face.
"My eyes... so are yours. Must be whatever it is that she did to us." Spike frowned, wondering what had happened. Somehow, he wasn't quite as bothered by the idea as he'd expected.
There were only a few minor problems the rest of their watch, one of which was nothing more menacing than a stray dog, which ran away at their presence. Neither spoke, half suspecting that mentioning the lack of challenge would invite disaster.
Spike made his way back to the area where Willow had made her circle, the glow almost too bright to look. Suddenly, Willow screamed, the sound reverberating through the mansion for what felt like forever before it cut short. The circle stopped glowing as if a switch had been thrown, leaving only a greenish after image. Willow had collapsed onto the floor, her hair suddenly longer, falling past her waist, it's hue darker, almost the color of blood. She was glowing faintly, and crackled of green and dull red moved over her body.
After a moment, he concluded that this was most likely either backlash or exhaustion from the spell. Taking a breath, he noticed the same scents of cinnamon and lightning filled this room, and there was also the scent of blood. A small trickle had come from Willow's nose, and there were bloody tear tracks over her cheeks. But her breathing was the pattern of sleep, and her heart beat was steady.
"Is she... did the spell hurt her?" Xander's voice was worried.
Carefully, Spike lifted Willow in his arms. "She's alive. More than that, we can't tell yet."
Spike laid her on the bed that he'd used when Angelus had made this his lair. He sat beside her, his fingers touching her cheek gently. "I think that she saved us."
All they could do was wait, and hope. Hope that Willow would wake up, and hope that she would be herself, and healthy. Then maybe they could figure out what had happened to them.
~Part: 25~
Inside the Magic Box, Giles and Tara had been focused on casting the spell that would imprison the essence of Glorificus in some inanimate form, a statue or gem of some sort. The spell hadn't described what the final form would look like. They finally completed the chants, 'pulling' the net of the spell around her, contracting it, making it smaller until she would be transformed out of a mortal shape into an object. They'd felt her fighting it, but her strength had faded, far more rapidly and more drastic a reduction than they'd dared to hope. Apparently Willow had managed to make an impact with that draining spell. They finished, feeling the sharp end of the power that marked a completed spell.
Rupert Giles sagged, nearly collapsing from his seated position to something a bit more flat. He felt utterly exhausted. It was amazing that nothing had breeched the wards on the shop to attack them.
Or perhaps there had been some trouble. Parts of the shop seemed in disarray, and Anya had a cut on her forehead, as well as a bruise developing over her eye. William had a bruise over his cheekbone, and Tara made an unhappy noise at the sight. She then wobbled as she rose to her feet, going a bit pale.
"W-what did we miss? Oh..." Tara's voice was filled with confusion, and one hand went to her temple.
"Are you alright? You look a bit pale..." William was there beside her, eyes full of worry and compassion and... something that could have been love. Or might at least grow into love with time.
Tara dissolved the separate wards that enclosed their circle, and allowed herself to sag against William, her eyes closed and a small smile on her face. "Everything is okay now."
Rupert smiled at the sight of them. It was incredibly obvious that they had developed feelings for each other, and those feelings were quite reciprocated. And unlike... oh dear. What would happen to William now? With Glory defeated, that could have an effect on the spells that she'd cast, particularly the one that had brought William to this time and place.
The hair on the back of his neck got this odd feeling, similar to the sensation of electricity. But he knew that this was the result of gathering magical power, not something so mundane as electricity. He glanced tot he young couple, seeing them clinging to each other, eyes wide and confused.
"I don't like the looks of that." Anya's voice was unhappy, and nervous. She was staring out the window nervously.
Thunder rumbled, and there was a flicker of orange lightning in the sky. Rain was pouring down, hammering mercilessly at the ground, it's fall made less regular by gusting wind.
"Do you think all the magic caused that?" Her voice was nervous, and she began to look around at all of the things on the shop. Perhaps she was considering how many of them were breakable.
With a small sigh, he rubbed at his glasses, hoping to clear up the blurring in his vision. The cleaning didn't help, forcing him to admit that it was his eyes, and the exhaustion from the spell. "Most likely. I shall hope it doesn't... well, yes, best just say that I think it was all the magic."
Anya turned around, apparently noticing the flicker of green light as he did. It had winked into being behind William, a pale green dot the size of a walnut, hovering at the level of his chest.
"Tara? You might... I think there's going to be a portal opening." He wasn't certain what would happen to them. Would this portal simply envelop William and be gone? Would it pull all of them through, like a whirlpool? Would it just open and close without anybody being forced to pass through?
The green began to grow, becoming a ring that slowly swirled and rotated. As it increased in size, there began to be a curious effect, as if some wind was blowing at William, trying to push him towards the still growing portal. This wind didn't touch any of the objects in the shop, nor did it affect anyone else.
"Tara! I don't want to go away from you!" His blue eyes were filled with so many emotions, such intensity. It made Rupert's eyes prickle to behold.
Tara looked at the portal, and twisted around so that she was facing William. "You can't stay here... It won't let you."
Suddenly, she kissed William, her hands going around his neck, her lips over his in what had to be among the most passionate kisses that Rupert had ever witnessed. He felt rather like he was intruding.
The portal reached the size of a doorway, swirling around in shades of pale green and mist, and there was a flash, and William and Tara were gone. The portal contracted, shrinking to nothingness in a few heartbeats.
"Well, that was... unexpected." He wondered how he could explain this occurrence.
Anya shook her head, still staring at the place where William and Tara had stood. "Damn, and Xander isn't here to give me orgasms after seeing something like that. I think... I'll go find him now. Yes, I will go find my Xander, and we will go home." Her voice was a bit higher, a bit tense.
Wincing at the unwelcome images her words had conjured, he waved a hand at her. "Very well, go find Xander. Just be careful of the weather."
He decided that he'd just sit there for a moment or two, before standing up. The sudden change in position had made Tara go lightheaded, he wouldn't want to pass out and fall down. No, best to just sit here for a few moments.
~Part: 26~
Buffy had been certain that even with the strange moments when suddenly, everything was all better, Glory was still kicking her ass. Those moments were strange, a weird green cast that everything would take for a few moments when it felt like every single nerve was humming at once. Then she realized that Glory's blows weren't coming quite as fast. She wasn't being knocked quite as far each time, and she was able to dodge more of them.
That was certainly good in her book. If the evil baddie was getting less powerful... maybe she could hurt her instead of just getting hurt. "Looks like something's changed. Time to fight fair."
She almost felt gleeful that she could finally do some damage to this hell-goddess. Especially since she'd learned that the Key was Dawn. She wasn't about to let her sister, even if Dawn had only really been her sister for a couple months, get sucked dry by some Big Evil. "You can't have the Key! Get out of my town!"
"NO! Who's doing this to me? When I find them, they are going to pay!" Glory's shout echoed, and the rage in her eyes was terrible. Buffy resisted the urge to back away. The weather turned nasty, with dark clouds and thunder, and heavy drops of cold rain began to fall.
"Looks like someone's not getting her way." Buffy taunted, noticing that Glory's curls seemed a bit limper, a bit less perfect. And were those bruises on that smooth skin?
Gradually, things seemed to shift, and Glory's blows didn't feel that much stronger than fighting Faith. But the air crackled with magic. It was weird, Buffy could almost see it. There was sort of a net-thing around Glory, getting tighter, and sort of a cord going from Glory to... elsewhere... and since when could she see magic in any way, shape or form? Yeah, things were most definitely beyond wiggy right now.
Suddenly, Glory screamed, her voice echoing as if there were at least a dozen people screaming, and she seemed to shimmer and warp, as if she were a special effect going wonky. It hurt to look at her when that was happening. There was this noise, like a grinding and twisting, and a gasp, followed by a metallic thud. The nearly choking sense of magic faded.
Buffy looked, puzzled as to what had just happened, and beheld the most baffling sight. There was a gleaming statue that might have been gold, a female shape with wild curls... or maybe those were snakes, and rubies for eyes, sharp fangs in a mouth open in a scream, and wicked talons on hands that didn't look quite right. The figure was depicted in a dress, and high heels. Collapsed on the ground next to the statue was... Ben? In the same red dress that Glory had been in, and the heels. It wasn't a good look for Ben.
"oohhh... what happened... rain?" Ben's voice was barely more than a whimper.
Buffy blinked, wondering if the image would change if she did. Nope, still the gleaming statue, still Ben in a dress. She felt utterly confused. "Ahh, Ben? That color.. not really good for you."
"Glory... what has she done now? I hate my life..." The words sounded as if he was in pain, or maybe nauseous.
Buffy had a suspicion that was starting to grow, and it was pretty ugly. "She... used you, like some sort of... hiding place?"
"Something like. She... she is... she's not there anymore. She was inside me. I could feel her, this evil, perky knot inside... But, how? What did I miss?" He sounded confused.
"Take a look to your left... no, my left. I think.. I think she got yanked out of you." Buffy felt a little better about her own life. Yeah, destiny, doomed to die, miserable social life, but at least she wasn't on a time-share program with evil.
He looked at the statue, scrambling away from it, and nearly falling over from the heels. He leaned against the battered car, it's alarm still shrilling into the rain, and took the sandals of with a wince, looking at them as if they were a horrible device of torture. "I think she looks a bit uglier that way. But I'm glad she's not.. well, in here anymore."
Buffy tried not to smile, almost succeeeding. "Why don't you come with me, we can get you some different clothing, something hot to drink... out of this rain." Buffy wondered how he'd manage to adjust to all of this.
"Yeah... this isn't my idea of the best thing to wear. And I'm soaked." He had a wry grin, and the sandals were still held in one hand. "Just one thing... how come your eyes are glowing green?"
Buffy froze in the middle of lifting the statue of Glory, almost loosing her balance. "What did you say?"
"Your eyes are glowing green." He repeated, looking at her with surprise. "Shall I assume that isn't a normal thing for you?"
Buffy scowled at the statue of Glory. "They are not supposed to glow green. What's up with green anyhow, I mean, why not blue, or purple, or white?"
The trip back to the Magic box was fairly short, but miserable. Anya's car was gone, but the Giles-mobile was still there. Buffy looked at Ben. "Can you open the door? My hands are a bit full."
With a small nod, Ben opened the door, muttering something about this dress and evil. They went into the store, and Buffy came to a halt. "Giles? Where's Tara and William? Why are you still on the floor?"
She put the statue on the ground with a thump, and hurried over to Giles. He looked sort of pasty and had dark rings under his eyes. "What happened in here?"
Giles looked around, pausing over the statue, his eyes growing wide at the sight of Ben. "Why is there a cross-dresser in the store? And your eyes... they seem to be glowing."
"Cross dresser? Wha... oh, you mean Ben. That's... kind of complicated, and are any Xander's spare clothes still in the back? You don't look so good."
Giles had sighed, one hand reaching up to rub at his head. "There should be. Why don't you help him find something dry, and get everyone some hot tea while I try to get off the floor. Explanations can come after that."
Buffy almost protested, wanting to say that she was a Slayer, not a tea-bringer. But Giles looked pretty wiped out. "Yeah, answers are of the good."
~Part: 27~
Rupert Giles sat in his chair in the back room, feeling far older than he should. Buffy had brought home a cross dresser. Was this a step up or down from a top secret commando from an organization that hunted and experimented on demons? Or from a souled vampire? Could he hope that they weren't involved? Well, he could hope, but he doubted that it would change anything.
"I'm Ben. I'd like to say that I'm pleased to meet you, but... it's sort of more a general confusion." The young man seemed more normal in a pair of Xander's jeans and a gray tee shirt.
"Ahh. It's been a rather confusing night for all of us." Rupert sighed, debating the idea of Scotch instead of the tea for a moment. No, the Scotch would put him out, and he needed to be awake a bit longer.
"Glory had this thing where she was using Ben's body as her home over the Hellmouth. But... it seems like he's gotten rid of the unwelcome room mate, who's now an oh so freaky statue, and is all himself again." Buffy sounded far more energetic than usual for after a patrol.
Looking at her, there were no bruises, no cuts. She didn't appear to be limping or favoring either arm, or trying not to jostle her ribs. "Buffy? How did you manage to come through your encounter uninjured?"
"Well... that's part of the wiggy stuff. She was seriously throwing me around, and then there was like this green film, and wow, sort of a weird rush, you know? And nothing hurt anymore. It happened twice, and she seemed to be getting weaker, then.. pop and twist, she's a statue, and Ben's on the ground sounding hung over." Buffy frowned. "My eyes are really green and glowing?"
"She was... after some sort of Key that would let her go home. And she... well, it wasn't quite killing them, but I think she made some people insane. She's not... I can tell the difference." Ben sounded delighted.
"Okay, we've established that the evil perky one is a statue now. But where is Tara? And William? Even Anya?" Buffy sounded impatient.
"Anya went in search of Xander, and I don't think we need any more about that." He shuddered at the memory of her words and the images they'd conjured. Not that there was anything particularly wrong about either Anya or Xander, but the boy was almost like a son to him, he didn't want to know the details of his sexual practices.
Buffy made a face, and a gesture as if pushing something away. "Right, please don't go there. William and Tara?"
"Well..." He sipped the tea, trying to figure out a tactful way to explain that mess. "William wasn't my cousin sent here for practical experience as a Watcher. He was actually someone that Glory pulled from another time, and brought here for some dark plan. We... don't have the details." He thought it might be best if he didn't explain about how William had been Spike.
"And...?" Buffy looked impatient.
"Calm down Buffy, and please stop bouncing. You're making my head spin." He rubbed at his eyes, wishing that everything was back to normal. "After we imprisoned her essence, there was a portal that opened to take William away, presumably to his correct time. Tara... decided to go with him."
"So... William went home, Tara's been sucked into another time leaving Willow without a girlfriend, and... where is Willow anyhow? And Ben's got his body all for himself again." Buffy looked like she was wishing for a set of notes.
"Yes, very good. Willow was performing her ritual at the Crawford Street mansion. Perhaps you can go check on them? After you..." He paused, knowing that he'd probably regret his next words. "After you drop of Ben and myself at our separate residences. You can drive."
"Really?" Buffy looked delighted. "YES!"
~Part: 28~
Tara blinked, feeling as if she was bruised over her whole body. She seemed to be on grass, and partly on a male body... The name emerged as a hoarse croak. "William?"
"Tara... You came with me. Ouch..." His groaned words gave the impression that he felt just as battered as she did.
Slowly, they managed to stand up. She looked around, shivering a bit in the cooler air. There were buildings, but they didn't look familiar. No electric lights, and the air smelled... different. "Where are we?"
"Home. My home, that is. London." He sounded a bit relieved. "I know where we are. Perhaps we should go inside?"
London... in another century. The only person that she knew here was William. Tara could feel herself shiver a bit, and reached for his hand. "Inside would b-be good."
He lead her out of what turned out to be a large park, and along a street to a large home. He walked up to the door, knocking with confidence and a small smile.
The door opened, revealing an older looking woman in a long dark dress, a slightly stained apron over the gown. "Master William! You're safe, we've been so worried. Come in, come in... let's get you patched up, and who's your... companion?"
Tara felt herself blushing, suddenly very aware of how different her clothing must look to someone from this time. She looked away, afraid to see reproach or disapproval from this woman.
"Her name is Tara McClay, and... She helped rescue me from a terrible fate. Unfortunately, this left her with nowhere to say, so we simply must offer her hospitality here." William sounded confident, and protective, and his hand reached out to brush over hers.
"Of course then." The woman's voice was low, and there was an almost gleeful note.
Tara found herself flocked off to a bedroom, where she gratefully collapsed into a soft bed. She could consider all the implications tomorrow. For now, she was exhausted.
Morning came with a breakfast tray and a borrowed gown that left her feeling delightfully feminine and a bit awkward. She found er way to a garden, where William sat with a woman that could only be his mother, and another man that had a resemblance, and was probably near the age of his mother. "William? Good m-morning."
"Tara." He smiled, his eyes full of emotions. "I want to introduce you to my mother and my Uncle Abraham Wyndham, the one that I mentioned to you and Rupert. She's American."
With a start, Tara realized that this was the proper protocol for the century, and that Uncle Abraham must be the Watcher. "Pleased to m-meet you."
There was some polite small talk for a while, before William's mother excused herself into the house for something. She looked rather pale, as if she was slightly ill.
"Miss McClay, under what circumstances precisely did you meet my nephew?" Abraham Wyndham's question was quite insistent.
Offering a feeble smile, she looked at William's uncle. "That would be when the portal that abducted him dropped him into Sunnydale, and we had to prevent him from being kidnapped by demonic minions. S-sorry if I can't remember their name. He helped us figure out a way t-to defeat the big evil, and... we came here."
"Portal... evil... I thought that you didn't want to be a Watcher?" He'd glanced sharply at William, eyebrows raised.
"I didn't, but my opinion wasn't asked before I was abducted. Fortunately, I was able to be of some assistance in the research portions..." William sighed. "It was not the most comfortable method of travel."
"So, does that mean you regret your trip?" Abraham looked particularly curious.
William smiled at Tara, taking her hand in his. "Never."
"I think I see now." Abraham smiled at the pair, looking almost amused.
~Part: 29~
Anya made her way towards the Crawford street mansion. She could feel the power humming by the time she turned onto Crawford Street, and it only became stronger as she got closer. Spike's car had wards on it that were so powerful they almost glowed. "D'Hoffryn's Beard, what has she done?" Anya gasped as she raced towards the house.
Caution made her slow down before she reached the door. They'd been expecting attacks, she'd best be careful. Yes, there was a trip wire. There was something else... She very slowly picked her way tot he building, stepping through the shattered door. She could feel the wards on the place, a near tangible presence.
There was no doubt where they would be. With Willow, in the center of all this magical mayhem. She moved towards the center of magic, wondering just how much power Willow had moved tonight. Passing the remains of a Vhas Terries, more commonly called the Greater Mildew, she entered the main room. One end held a fireplace, and a leather couch faced by two chairs. She could see small feet on the couch, and an elbow on the arm of one chair.
"Anya." Exhaustion and worry dripped from Xander's voice. "Did everything go well at the Magic Box?"
"A portal opened and sucked William and Tara through after they finished the spell. Nobody got killed. I missed you." She walked carefully, feeling almost drunk with the sheer ambient power in the room. "What did she do?"
Xander and Spike looked at her, with matching glowing green eyes. Xander smiled a bit, a smile that was all Xander, and moved, suddenly there, hugging her tightly to him. "We don't know yet. We were sort of hoping that she could tell us when she wakes up."
Anya felt herself gasp, and sank onto the couch, her back not quite touching Willow's feet. "What happened? As far as you two can tell?"
Spike made a small shrug. "We were fighting. Got rid of some minions, round two was on the way and something hit Xander. Like a cloud of green mist, and it soaked into him. He collapsed, and when he got up, his eyes were green, and the whelp could kick ass against the moldy demon."
"Don't forget the fact that it happened to you as well, bleach blond. It felt like... like I was being filled with something, some energy, and it sort of hurt, and sort of... didn't." He sighed, glancing behind her to Willow's still form. "Our best guess is that it was Willow, but... we don't know if it was supposed to do something or if it just... happened."
"Urghh. That does complicate things." Anya sighed, figuring that her plan to get in, grab Xander, take him home and have many orgasms was shot to many pieces.
"Any guesses, Anya? You've been watching things go in unexpected directions for over a thousand years." Spike's voice was almost a purr.
Anya frowned, looking towards the fire as she tried to make a guess. "True, but... that only gives me a few things that happened before, which isn't quite the same. Okay... I'm assuming that this happened while she was pulling power away from Glory?"
"There was only the one spell casting session before she screamed and passed out." Xander's voice was worried.
Anya shivered, remembering all the thousands of occasions when she'd seen magic users overextend themselves, sometimes injuring their minds, sometimes burning themselves away, leaving only empty husks. Somehow, she didn't think this was the time to mention that - proof that she WAS learning a bit of tact. "Then we should assume that the power that she was pulling was too much for her to contain in herself, and she had to send some of it elsewhere. And apparently you two, and the wards on Spike's car becme 'elsewhere' for her to send power. Which is something that I should be angry about, because that sort of thing has killed people in the past."
"Cheerful. So.. what would this magic do? Besides heal him of his injuries?" Spike's voice sounded a bit worried.
Anya gave a small snort. "That's the million dollar question. And it depends how much power got channeled into each of you. Latent abilities could get woke up. Weak abilities can become strong. Injuries, even old ones, can be healed. Or minds can be shattered, and bodies warped horribly. But it looks like Willow had more control than that."
"I'm pretty sure that neither of us got horribly warped and twisted. And I think our minds are pretty much the same, so..." Xander paused, and sneezed once. "How much Dragon's Bane is left at the store? I can smell it all over you."
Anya looked at him frowning. "But there's only a little bit that got spilled on my hand this afternoon. How did you...?"
Xander groaned, hands going to his head as he slumped in dismay. "Hyena'd again. Damn."
"Considering the amount of power that's just standing in this room, it's probably permanent." Anya wondered what the story was on that hyena'd comment. "Do you think this will influence your sex drive?"
Spike just groaned, one hand covering his face as if he were deeply upset. "Just... go somewhere else before you start shagging. I'll stay here with Willow."
Smiling, Anya grabbed Xander's hand, pulling him to his feet. "I like that plan. Let's go home and have many orgasms."
~Part: 30~
She had to be awake. Nothing else could possibly hurt so much. She felt as if her insides had been scraped raw, dipped in salt, and then smoked until dry. Carefully, she flexed her hand, feeling it twinge as the muscles moved, the skin flexed. A small whimper escaped from her.
"Luv? Willow, are you alright?" Spike's voice, his words thick with worry.
Willow frowned, wondering why she could feel him there, sense exactly where he was, the bend of his legs, the whirling intensity of his emotions. Spike was worried about her, so she would try to answer him. The words emerged as a feeble whisper. "I don't know."
"You don't know? Do I need to call the Watcher?" His hand reached out, brushing over her hair, touching her cheek. He felt cool, comforting.
"mmm... cool finger. nice." She could feel an almost smile flit over her lips. "I hurt..."
"Can you tell me what hurts?" Spike's voice was soft, and she could feel the worry. "DO you know what you did to us?"
"Inside... I hurt. And my head..." Pausing to lick her dried lips, Willow debated opening her eyes. Deciding to try, she looked at him, seeing a blur of pale over dark. "You're all blurry... no, my vision's blurry, right?" But why did it look like his eyes were green?
He gave a small chuckle. "I don't look blurry. Although there was something earlier about glowing green eyes... know anything about that, luv?"
She closed her eyes, the blurry making her feel dizzy, or maybe dizzier would be more accurate. "Green is good. I'm green, she was red. red like drying blood, and all old perky and nasty. she tastes like expensive perfume. Myrrh. I pulled from her, Spike. It was. there aren't words. I took from her power, from her strength, and she couldn't' stop me. It felt. there was pain, and power. Quite the rush."
"You took Glory's power. That was the plan. I still don't follow why that turned my eyes green." He sounded calm, but she could feel otherwise, he was seething with questions, and worry, and impatience.
The burning pain was fading a bit, to a level where she could probably move, and function some, except that she was still so dizzy. Keeping her eyes closed, Willow carefully sat up, having been laying down for. when had she lain down? The last thing she remembered, Tara and Giles had netted Glory. "Urrgg. I pulled the power away from her, yes. But, Spike. There was so much of it. Too much of it. I couldn't hold it all, I had to put it somewhere, and I didn't dare send any to Giles and Tara, it could disrupt their spell, which was way more important than mine. I sent some of it to you, to Xander, to Buffy. I reinforced some wards. I think. I remember sending some of it to super-glue Angel's soul. And I tried. tried to shape a healing spell for Joyce with some of it. But it hurt o pull, make the power mine instead of hers, and make it into a spell before letting go, so I just gave you power. After it wasn't hers, which would be why green. I'm babbling, aren't I?"
"I'd say so, luv. Why send power to us? Why not try to close the damn Hellmouth while you were drawing on the power of a goddess?" He sounded a bit amused, and maybe relieved.
"That was later." She still had her eyes closed, but she felt that flash of pure astonishment. "Close your mouth. It's unbecoming to a Master Vampire to stare with a gaping jaw. And I don't know how solid it was, I may have just. sort of added tape, you know?"
"Right. How much power did you pull from her?" He sounded and felt like he wasn't certain that he wanted an answer.
"I'm not sure. It burned, but if I stopped, then she'd be able to resist Giles and Tara, only then she'd be really mad. There was another pattern underneath. I could feel him. She was all loose strings, Spike." She still hadn't opened her eyes. There had been fragments of memory with those threads, images, glimpses into. Elsewhere. Fragments of ritual, of a life of hedonistic indulgence, of servants destroyed on a whim.
"Are you still. all Willow in there? You sound like a few things got knocked loose." Spike's question was slow, and she could feel his worry and dread.
"Nice to have someone care like that." She smiled, trying to sort that answer out herself. "Me. Willow Anne Rosenberg. not Glorificus ShaerKaeith of Haun Tauirith. Urg. I can remember things, her things. She was. evil, and. always way too perky. I think I'm still me."
"Why don't you open your eyes, luv?" He felt worried.
"Because I peeked. you were all blurry. Dizzy doesn't mix well with blurry. Throwing up is bad. I want to avoid it." She knew that she couldn't keep her eyes closed forever. A thought occurred to her, and she could feel herself smiling hopefully. "Spike, is there. could I take a bath? A really long soak, with bubbles?"
"I think so. But before I turn you loose in a bath, I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you think you'll be okay." He felt worried, even though he sounded grumpy.
"Fine." She turned towards Spike, feeling him, seeing his pattern of energy with her inner eye. Opening her eyes, she saw that he was indeed still all blurry. But the blurry seemed less, and it was more like the room was all swirling with silver fog. She could still see the swirls and glow of his aura. "I think I'll be. okay to take a bath. I'll feel better after a nice hot soak."
Spike felt all disturbed again, filled with worry and tension. "Right. Do you think you can walk to the bathroom?"
"Still sort of dizzy. Maybe if I lean on you?" Willow wasn't certain if she could walk anything resembling a straight line.
He took her hand, helping her up from the couch as if she was a delicate lady. She certainly felt fragile. Willow closed her eyes again as they moved, the blurriness making her head spin and stomach twist. The pattern of the walls was there, she wouldn't walk into anything. Spike brought her to a bathroom, with a large rounded tub. He let her stand by the sink, and pulled out a few things.
"These aren't the scent that you normally use, but there's shampoo, conditioner, even bubble bath. I'll let you freshen up." He smiled at her, leaving the door open a sliver in case she had any troubles.
She opened her eyes, peering at the bottles until she'd sorted out what each one held. The effort made her head throb more. She started the water, pouring in a generous measure of the bubble bath, listening to the pouring of the water. But it was cold. Why was it cold? She pulled a wisp of the fog downstairs, converting it to heat and sending it into the water before she realize what she was doing. It burned, the. what ever that allowed her to manipulate magic shrieking fiery protest at the action even as the water became near boiling hot. She choked back a sob, refusing to scream from the pain.
The rest of the water poured in, still cold. By the time the water was the right depth, it was also the right temperature. She striped off her clothing, leaving it on the floor as she stepped into the water. Oh. bliss was a nice soak in an almost too hot bubble bath. Maybe she could stay right here for the next week.
~Part: 31~
Spike waited outside the bathroom, worried about Willow. She'd just seemed a bit. off. Maybe it was exhaustion, maybe it was pain, but. What if it wasn't? He liked Willow, he didn't want her to NOT be Willow. She'd sounded as if she was only half here, the rest of her mind. somewhere else. He didn't like the idea of dizziness.
When he'd insisted that she look him in the eye, he hadn't expected. They didn't look the same. They were these glowing green pools of energy, similar to the way Xander's had looked, but more intense. It had left him feeling shaken. He needed more answers.
Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a cell phone, checking to see if all the fighting had damaged it. Discovering that it was still intact, he grinned before calling Rupert. Not that he ever wanted the Watcher to know that he'd programmed his number into the bloody cell.
It rang a few times before being answered with a mumbled :Who the hell is this?:
He resisted the urge to tease the Watcher. But it definitely sounded as if the casting had been hard on him. "This is Spike. I'm trying to get a bit of info on that spell you let Willow do. Seems that's he dumped power into some of us."
:Yes, I am aware of that. Buffy's eyes were still glowing green this afternoon. What sort of protective spell did she cast on her?: He sounded bad.
"Didn't go like that, old man. Willow woke up, and I asked her a few questions. She said. Willow just dropped power into us. No protective spell on us, just lots of power. I'm worried about side effects." He paced along the hallway, trying not to be distracted by the little splashing sounds that emerged from the bathroom.
:Willow is awake? How does she feel? Is she. does she seem quite herself?: The worry seemed to have brought Rupert's full mind into play.
"She said everything hurts, she feels dizzy, and she's been keeping her eyes closed. She said everything was all blurry. Right now, she's taking a bubble bath, on the idea of she hopes it will help her feel better. Rupert, her eyes. they were glowing. Think you can have someone pop over here with some clean clothing for her?" Inside, he was hoping that the Watcher would have answers. That Willow would be alright. That he hadn't taken so long to realize. When had he developed these feelings for her anyhow? And what did they all mean? And he realized that Rupert was saying something.
:. doesn't seem to be having any ill effects, and Xander says that he's feeling quite healthy. Anya will be over with something for her.:
"What about Tara?" He frowned, wondering how everything with Tara would unfold.
:Tara. isn't here anymore. A portal opened, and took William away, and Tara. chose to go with him. We're assuming that he returned to London, in his proper time.: Rupert sounded tired.
"Right then. Hope they do better than I did." Tara would be much better for him. for William than Cecily had been. He just hoped that them going back didn't change his existence here.
Dimly, he registered the Watcher's goodbye, and he pushed the button that would end the connection. He wanted to sort out his feelings for Willow, and maybe figure out when they'd started. She was smart, talented, capable. he respected her abilities, and her magic damn near terrified him. She'd gone against a goddess, and made an impact. But he also respected her other type of strength, the way that she didn't give up, the way she found a bit of good in everybody, and stood by her friends. The way that she'd helped him. And she looked good under those concealing sweaters and loose skirts, so there was definitely a strong helping of lust in there. He respected her, he wanted her, he. liked her.
Maybe she might be willing to try dating him now? And he wondered if there was something wrong with him wanting to date someone like Willow. She was cheerful, she was so openly emotional, she was completely the opposite of him in so many ways. Bloody Hell, a little time around the mortal that he'd been and he started forgetting everything. He was a Master Vampire! He wasn't supposed to worry about 'was he the right sort for her'! He wanted her, he would make a try for her, and the only person who could make him stop would be Willow herself! That's right, he didn't have to be some mincing admire from afar, not good enough for her sap anymore. He'd ask her himself.
A series of mental images flooded his mind, Willow naked in a tub of bubbles and hot water, the bubbles clinging to her skin. Willow, wreathed in the scent of jasmine from her bath. Her skin all flushed and soft, with his hands caressing her hot body. And the possibility that if he interrupted her, he could end up a vampire frog. That was NOT an option he wanted to pursue. Best wait until she was done with her bath before asking her out.
To help with that delay, he moved farther down the hall, waiting in the main room for someone to arrive with clean clothing for Willow. Last night was confusing enough without making her angry at him today.
~Part: 32~
"How is she?" Xander's voice carried through the room, low and worried.
Spike looked at him, somehow not surprised to see that his eyes were still glowing green, although they weren't quite as bright as he remembered them being. "Awake. She said everything hurt, inside, and that she felt dizzy. Think she had a headache as well. She also mentioned that her vision was blurry."
"There's a chance that it might not get better." Anya's words weren't the sort of thing he'd been hoping to hear.
"How much do you know about this sort of thing?" He tried not to growl, but there was a little bit of it anyhow.
"I don't know of anyone that went up against a goddess, or anything else close to that powerful. But I've seen a lot of witches and sorcerers who decided to steal power. Generally because they were pretty unimpressive on their own. Gives a quick boost if it's done right. But if it's done wrong, or if the victim is too powerful, or if. oh, there are all sorts of 'if's that can happen. Things can go wrong. Headaches are pretty common, so is feeling dizzy. Sometimes, things never go back to the way they were before." Anya sat down, holding a bag of clothing in her hands. "I can still feel all the power here. I think. if Willow's very lucky. she is still Willow, right? If she's lucky, she's just suffering from too much magic."
"I think so. She sounded a bit off, but that could be from the dizziness and pain. I'm a bit worried though, she mentioned memories, and kept saying that her vision was blurry." Spike frowned, wondering why Xander had more of a presence than Anya. "Might as well try to soak up some of this magic, Anya. You might need it later."
"Can we hope not?" Anya looked worried. "Needing magic generally means there's trouble, which could mean injuries. This body is human and sort of fragile, and injuries reduce my daily allotment of orgasms."
For a moment, Spike just stared at her, wondering how she could say such things. "Right. Do you want to go check on Willow? Give us your opinion of her recovery? She's also a bit less likely to turn you into a frog if you see something."
Xander frowned. "This is Willow. She wouldn't turn any of us into frogs. Willow's afraid of frogs. Maybe snakes though. yeah, let's have Anya go."
Anya stood up, scowling at both of them. "If she turns me into something disgusting, I will be furious with you both." With that, she huffed and stomped out of the room.
"Notice any bizarre changes yet, Spike?" Xander sounded unexpectedly serious.
"I've been sitting and watching her. Nothing seems different yet. What about you?" He was a bit curious where this was coming from.
Xander blushed a bit. "I've noticed a few things. All the basic senses are enhanced. And this place. I can feel it. I'm also stronger than before, and. ummm. I've noticed a few other changes. Physical improvements."
"Hadn't tried anything." Spike frowned as he said it, wondering if anything might have changed. What would be different? He still felt the same. "Bugger... I'm not hungry yet. I should be getting hungry by now, but I'm not. Wonder what's up with that?"
"Maybe you're systems too busy with all that magic?" Xander had a small smile.
Spike nodded slowly, even as he questioned the idea that it could be something that simple. "Maybe. But I won't bet on it yet."
Xander nodded. "That makes sense. How is she really?"
Spike frowned at him, wondering when Xander Harris, of all people, had learned to tell when he wasn't being entirely honest. Wait, he had mentioned enhanced senses. "I'm not sure. She sounds. Bloody hell, she was reminding me a bit of Dru, and I hope that it's just temporary. But she just seemed half out of touch, like she wasn't all here. But she's still Willow, not. she's Willow. And I think she's in more pain than she's trying to let on."
"That sounds like Willow. I think we can deal with spacey Willow for a while, considering that she saved our collective asses pulling power from Glory." Xander was pacing now, as if he couldn't stand sitting still.
"Can we deal with whatever changes she might have done to us?" Spike wasn't certain if he was asking Xander or himself.
"Not seeing many options to that one. But how bad can it be to be better able to keep my mate and territory safe? How bad can it be to be able to fight off the demons and vampires?" Xander didn't even seem to realize that he'd called Anya his mate.
~Part: 33~
"Willow? Are you ready for clothing?" Anya paused at the bathroom, smelling the jasmine bubbles, feeling the humidity. She was reminded of many bad horror movies that she'd watched with Xander, remembering how stupidly some of the people in them had behaved. "You'd better be Willow, or else we will have to run away and return with violence."
"Anya. Yes, I'm still Willow. Just, I'm Willow in pain. And it generally works better if you don't tell the scary things that you're going to come back." The voice sounded like Willow, with her words slow from the inevitable reaction to any strong use of magics.
Pushing the door open, Anya went into the bathroom, immediately feeling jealous. "I don't have a bathtub that big. Do you think I can have Xander get a bigger bathtub? Oh, and I brought you clean clothing."
"Clean clothing sounds good." Willow did something, and the water and bubbles began to flow out of the tub, draining away. She arose slowly, one hand against the wall, and reached for a soft towel, drying herself. Her skin looked flushed, but there were no bruises, no mottling that indicated internal bursting from too much power.
Anya handed her the bag of clothing, not noticing until she took it that Willow's eyes were still closed. Although she seemed to be doing just fine that way, it seemed weird. "Willow? Why not open your eyes?"
"Because I still feel a bit dizzy. And everything was blurry, which made the dizzy part feel worse. Spike made me open my eyes and then he got all freaked out." Willow paused, pulling the shirt over her head. "It's still there, you know. The whole vengeance demony thing, just. sleeping. I wonder what would have happened if I'd sent power to you?"
"How do you know?" Anya felt as if the skin on the back of her neck was all pins and needles.
"I can see it. In your aura. And I can feel Xander and Spike in the other room. They're worried." Willow's voice was soft, almost hesitant.
"They're worried about you." Anya wondered how Willow would react to that.
For a moment, Willow's eyes opened with her surprise. They were like deep green jewels with a bright light behind them, far more intense than Xander's had been, and far more green than they had ever been before. Quickly, they closed again, a tear at the corner of one eye. "Worried about me? But. not afraid of me."
Anya found herself staring at Willow. Had she. She had. "You pulled a lot of power. It shows. Can you come back to the other room?"
Willow paused, still leaning against the sink as she combed through her hair. "I hope so. I can trail along the wall, or lean on you. I just. I just want to be Willow. No, I want to be a Willow that doesn't hurt all through my body."
The flush seemed to have faded, leaving Willow's skin far paler than normal. Not waxy pale, but porcelain pale. As if it wasn't supposed to be skin at all. And her hair looked a bit different, a bit shinier. Willow had been changed by all that power, but how far did the changes go? "I suppose you can lean on me."
"Thanks, Anya." Willow reached out, one hand touching Anya's shoulder, and the seething power leapt, like a spark, burning through her like a hot wind.
It felt like Willow's magic, only stronger, more wild. As if something raw and wild had been caught and put through Willow. Which was actually what had happened. It burned through her, an almost familiar sensation, and she felt as if something had shifted inside. They both collapsed to the floor.
"Ow. Floor hard. Willow feels breakable. That was actually what I was hoping to avoid." Willow's voice was low as she picked herself up.
"Ow is right. That was. like a magical static charge. Ow." Anya picked herself up, freezing at the sight in the mirror. She looked different, her skin almost bronze, patterned faintly with red, her eyes glowing green. Power surged under her skin. "That's. not my old look."
"Sorry?" Willow's voice sounded as if she wasn't quite sure there was something to apologize for. "I didn't mean to. Are you okay?"
Anya felt herself giggling. "Am I okay? I think you've made me not so human anymore. I'm fine, maybe better than fine. Let's try this lean on me thing again."
This time, there was no unexpected shock. Anya helped Willow back into the room where Spike and Xander were talking, wondering just how much things were going to change.
"Anya? You've joined the glowing green eyes club." Xander sounded curious, a little worried.
"I feel. pretty good, actually. And yeah, she's all Willow still. Just... Willow with way too much magic. I don't think she should be touching people." Anya smiled as Willow sat on Spike's lap, wondering if that had been deliberate. Deciding that it really didn't matter, she sat on Xander's lap, cuddling closer to him. She definitely liked the new and improved version of her Xander.
~Part: 34~
Willow sighed, contentedly sitting on Spike's lap. He'd tensed when she'd sat down, but one arm had gone out, wrapping around her waist, steadying her against him. Now, she was curled up, her head on his shoulder. This was nice. Not as nice as it would be when she didn't hurt, but still nice. One hand crept up, sliding behind his head, touching his hair. It felt so soft, all rumpled and the little curls.
His chest vibrated a bit as he spoke. "Happy there, luv?"
Smiling, she answered, uncertain if he'd actually expected one. "Yes. You have a very comfy lap."
Spike buried his nose in her hair, purring just a bit. "You smell good."
He was sniffing her hair. Oh merciful heaven, he was sniffing her hair... and then she realized exactly what part of Spike her hip was pressed up against. It was a rather firm and definitely male part. She felt herself smiling. Maybe she did have a chance after all. Spike certainly seemed to find her attractive, maybe. Well, maybe. "Thanks."
Anya felt amused, and that was all the warning that Willow had before Anya's question. "So. how long have you and Spike been dating?"
Xander sputtered, feeling shock/confusion/surprise. "Anya! Willow isn't dating Spike! She's. well, she was dating Tara."
Willow couldn't resist teasing Xander just a little bit. "Actually, Tara and I were never dating. It was a smokescreen to keep Buffy from setting me up with someone, and Tara wanted to avoid a few obnoxious guys at college. And I haven't been dating Spike. He hasn't asked me out yet."
Spike went tense under her, and for a moment Willow wondered if she'd entirely misjudged his reaction. But then he was almost crushing her against him in a hug, Lips against her temple. "Sounds like I'll have to change that then. How about we catch a movie when you feel a bit less achy?"
Mmmm, he smelled so good up close. Her arms seemed to fit nicely around him. Not to mention that. well, it felt rather impressive against her hip, anyhow. "That sounds good. Only, no horror movies unless it's a vampire flick that we can laugh at."
"Can I steal some of your popcorn?" He was smiling against her temple, still holding her close.
"Okay." She felt calm, almost peaceful for the first time in a long time. Certainly since she'd found him all bloody and wounded underneath her hedge. Gradually, the realization dawned - she had a date with Spike! "More than okay."
Spike chuckled, his arm loosening just a little, in case she needed to breathe. "Sounds good to me. So. what about that comic book movie coming out? X-Men, wasn't it?"
"Sounds good to me." Willow found herself smiling again, and hoped that she'd feel less achy soon. She had a date when she was feeling good enough. Something else occurred to her. "Spike?"
"Yes, luv?" He sounded curious, but he also felt all content.
"Don't wait for something that drastic to ask me out for our second date." She gave the mock order with a smile.
"Wouldn't dream of it, luv."
"So. how long has the bleached one been lusting after my best bud?" Xander's voice was teasing, but he didn't sound quite hostile.
Spike made a small growl, and pulled Willow a bit closer against him. "Sod off, that's not your concern."
Anya giggled. "That means quite a while."
Spike gave a small growl towards her. "I always thought that she was quite bitable. As for anything else. If not for this blasted chip, she wouldn't be one of the Slayer's helpers now, she'd be my Childe and we'd be running this town by now."
"I knew it!" Anya sounded gleeful. "I thought it sounded unlikely that in your effort to tell Buffy that the Initiative were jerks you had to go to Willow. There are easier ways to get a message to her. Which means that you just wanted Willow."
"Oh, just shut up, woman." Spike looked again to Willow, his nose pressed against her head. "It doesn't matter when it started."
Willow just smiled, deciding not to argue with Spike about that. Oh, it definitely mattered, but there was no need to badger him about it. Especially since it was sounding like he'd had an interest for quite a while now. "Maybe you will be Hades to my Persephone after all."
~Part: 35~
Hearing her comment, Spike grinned. Hades to her Persephone? Oh yes, he could be the King of the Dead with her as his Queen. Sounded quite tempting to him. "I thought that started with a kidnapping, luv?"
She rubbed on hand against his chest, over his heart. The other was still playing with his hair. "You did kidnap me already. We're just getting the more... umm, less threatening part a bit later. And unlike Persephone, I don't have a worried mother out searching for me."
Spike swallowed, wondering when his pants had shank so much. They felt very tight all of a sudden. He wanted to give things with Willow a chance, to see what they could have. "No, just a Watcher, a Slayer, a Vengeance Demon, and what was that about getting hyena'd? And they all want to make sure that I treat you right proper."
"mmm. and how do you plan to do that?" Her voice was soft, her breath feeling almost scalding against his chest.
Dozens of passionate ideas about exactly how right he could treat her flitted through his mind. But he wasn't certain that she'd meant the question to be suggestive. "I think I can find a few ideas."
Willow shifted a bit in his lap, her hip pressing against him in a way that almost made him forget they weren't alone. "Creativity can be good."
Oh bloody hell. Spike closed his eyes, counting to a hundred in every language he knew. Willow was going to be the death of him. If things got any hotter, someone, most likely him, would catch fire! He practically purred into her ear. "I'll bet I can be good."
There were a few noises, and then he realized that Xander and Anya had left the building. He smiled, part of him figuring that they'd left so that they could shag, part of him jealous. Willow wasn't in any shape to be shagging yet. Unfortunately for him.
"Hmmm.. I get you all to myself." Willow's voice had a trace of amusement, right before she yawned. "oh, being awake seems very exhausting today."
"Then rest, you did a lot yesterday. Nobody will mind." He wasn't in any hurry for her to move off his lap.
"Spike-pillow. Nice." She shifted yet again, and curled a little bit.
It took him a few moments to realize that she was asleep. It was the soft, even breathing that did it. Maybe he could just. sit here for a while. He could use the time to figure out if he minded being called her pillow.
Something nagged at his memory. What was he going to do with that blasted Buffy-bot? How could he explain it to Willow? What would happen when someone else discovered the damn thing? Considering the amount of pain it had caused him. But that pain had caused him to realize that Willow was something. To figure out that he wanted her. To learn that she was willing to give things a chance. Yeah, the pain had been worth it.
But he was still going to get rid of that robot.
The End