And here is the promised update
- though as i hinted in the title line - we're not promising an end to those cliff hangers
Enjoy
xBethx
The world seemed to stop as Anya’s words echoed over and over before a hard silence filled everything for a moment and then the soft sound of wind filled in the void around her. Soon added to that was the soft hum of fast beating wings as large fireflies zoomed by the blonde, the smiles on their faces met her in pleasant greeting as they waved little legs at her.
The bugs were a thousand times bigger than normal though their happy disposition easily told her that they were of no threat. Slowly the outline of a small wooden window filled in around her, there was no glass and the view looked out through the canopy of a red maple tree out into a lush forest.
As Tara turned the large room cleared into being and the wooden walls, ceiling and floor with its tree rings pointed to the fact she was actually in a tree hollow. In the far corner on a bed of fresh leaves her Willow slept on her stomach, a pair of soft fairy wings curled up to her back.
“Oh, my fairy princess.” Tara whispered as she took another long look around the serenity around her. She took small steps across the room to the bed reaching out a trembling hand to trace the edge of a gossamer wing.
“Are you coming to bed sweetie?” Willow opened one eye and smiled. “Or are you flirting with the fireflies again?”
“I was just thinking about how beautiful you are.” Tara replied smiling at the slightly pointed tip of ear just visible behind rich red hair. She couldn’t resist reaching out to trace over the added flesh.
“I am the second most beautiful fairy in the kingdom.” Willow giggled as her ear was tickled.
“Who’s first?” Tara grinned running her fingers through silky red locks.
“You of course.” Willow pushed up a bit sitting face to face with the blonde. “Princess of the forest.” She leaned in and kissed Tara softly.
“You’re a princess too.” Tara couldn’t help melt slightly, though she made her eyes stay alert as she looked around constantly.
“Yes but I’m not the most beautiful.” Willow reasoned resting her hand on Tara’s thigh, the skin there was tinted on the outsides like her own with a light leaf green colour.
“I think you are.” Tara replied placing her hand over Willow’s on her thigh.
“The moon is out, we could make magic tonight.” Willow nuzzled closer again her lips seeking out Tara’s.
“Is that what you want to do?” Tara asked her voice whisper.
“I always want to...” Willow’s answer was cut off as a deep hollow thud announced someone at their front door. “I wonder who that is so late.” She questioned looking at the cut out entrance in the wood.
“I’ll get it.” Tara offered willing herself to calm a little and focus after all, the visitor might have information to help her with what she was doing.
“Tara, you and Willow have to come to the river.” The fairy version of Buffy was standing there though she was dressed in light silver armour and held a miniature sword. “The trolls are attacking.”
Tara stepped back and looked at her lover for her to answer the fairy Buffy.
“Of course.” Willow got up her wings spreading out behind her.
“Is it bad?” Tara asked looked back at Buffy.
“It’s not good.” Buffy replied anxiously as she stepped off the branch and began hovering on her shiny red wings. “Giles and Xander are already there.”
“Here’s your spell bag baby.” Willow held out the carefully crafted shoulder bag for her fairy lover.
“Thank you sweetie” Tara took the bag that was carefully made from stitched rose petals each a soft shade of pink, just like her wings as the appendages on her back fluttered slightly with the draft coming through the door.
“Let’s fly.” Willow put on her own bag that was made of stitched white rose petals. Tara nodded ready to follow wherever Willow led as the redhead took her hand and they were soon easing through the thermals of the forest towards the brightly illuminated riverbank. They landed just shy of a small man in a long flowing robe.
“Giles, what’s going on?” Buffy landed and questioned immediately.
“Ah Buffy, I see you found Willow and Tara good.” The Watcher turned his aged face towards their arrival, long pure white flowing hair moving back over his shoulders. His outline was covered in a burgundy robe and he held a large tome in his arms.
“Bad news!” Xander zoomed in over the high grass towards them. “Bad news!” His speckled green and blue wings fluttered around his naked upper body, though he wore long green tights that ended in rounded tips around his toes.
“Xander?” Tara watched as he flew in.
“The trolls are over the rock bridge and are breaking down the summer pavilion.” He landed with a bit of a stumble. “Hi Tara, Wills.”
“We have to stop them then.” Willow jumped in immediately.
“But we need you here.” Giles argued stroking his long beard.
“We can’t be here hiding if our people need us Giles.” Willow shook her head and glanced at Tara for support.
“Perhaps one of you could stay here and one of you could come with me. Tara, you could come with me.” Xander looked at the two fairy Princesses.
“We all should go.” Buffy contradicted. “It’s time to teach the trolls a permanent lesson.”
“Why are they doing this?” Tara asked looking for a hint as to what was going on.
“They want to take over our world, they aren’t happy staying in the Underland anymore.” Buffy reminded her with a large amount of anger.
“Please can we hurry.” Xander jumped up and hovered.
“It’ll be okay sweetie.” Willow held out her hand and Tara took it quickly.
“Come on Giles.” Xander moved to pick up the wizard as they crossed over the water reeds to another opening in which many fairies and trolls were fighting.
Buffy immediately darted down to fight with them, her sword ready to defend her homeland.
“There’s so many of them.” Tara glanced down at the many dark figures battling on the ground below them though Buffy was brightly visible in her silver armour.
“They are evil.” Willow reached into her spell bag. “We have to stop them.”
“Of course.” Tara agreed pulling her own bag around to find out just what she had in it.
“What spell?” Willow turned just as the air was filled with a high whistling and a barrage of arrows cut through the forest. Below in her shinning armour the Slayer fell just as a deadly shaft pierced Tara too.
Tara felt the sharp tip piece through her wing and strike her hard in the back. The blow made her tumble forward and fall out of the sky. She could just hear Willow’s scream as she plummeted earthward.
As the world tumbled over and over Tara’s eye caught sight of two green eyes she knew so well though they were framed in long red hair. She tried to keep her gaze constant but with the tumbling and turning she found it impossible and by the time she could focus again the green eyes were gone as with a hard thud she hit the ground.
“I’m going to kick every square inch of your ass.” A hollow angry version of Willow’s voice broke the air as the sound of fighting erupted and a moment later the Slayer’s battered form landed in the dust next to Tara.
“Will, please.” Buffy coughed hard as she flipped over.
“No!” Willow growled as she stomped over and attempted to kick Buffy in the side but the Slayer rolled away.
“Why are you angry with me?” Tara heard the Slayer ask the desperate question as she tried to get her bearings in the new harsh world, it was such a stark contrast to the forest that even with the war that was waging there she wished she could have stayed with Princess Willow longer.
“You let her die!” Willow did a twirl in the air for a kick that Buffy first blocked but then a head butt caught the Slayer by surprise. “You saved everyone else but you let her die!”
“I didn’t know she was in danger.” Buffy defended shaking her head to let the blood drip freely from her bleeding nose.
“You were too busy riding Spike.” Willow backed up and floated off the ground. “Was it good Buffy? Was it good to be used and soiled? Did it make all I did to save you worth it?”
“I was confused.” Buffy’s voice was smaller, more beaten. “I’m sorry Willow.”
The world did a sudden three sixty from the dark and burnt surroundings to one of pure white overhead lights and bright clean tiles.
“BUFFY, DON’T LEAVE ME!” Willow screamed herself hoarse as she was pulled back from a doorway towards an awaiting stretcher.
Tara looked up but she did so with the Slayer’s eyes. Sad eyes that met with Willow’s wide green ones, eyes that took in the small hands that reached out towards her pleading, begging, desperate to be filled and saved.
“Don’t let them take me, I’ll be good, I can be good. Please let me be good.” Willow wailed as her tiny body was lifted up and forced down into the bed. Her hands were tied down first and then her flailing legs were bound as well.
“I’m sorry Willow.” Tara heard the words come out in Buffy’s voice though she felt the exertion of saying them on her lips. She shivered as hard tears fall from the Slayers eyes to spill down her cheeks but then again, just in the corner of her vision, she caught a fan of red hair and she turned her head sharply.
“Tara! Tara baby! Help me! TARAAA!” Willow’s screams got further away as the bed was wheeled back.
Torn between following the gurney and the image that had caught her attention, Tara took two steps after the nurses first and as she did again heading for the shadows she caught sight of a slim figure.
“Whoever you are you don’t belong here.” A soft familiar voice whispered to her. “Go before it gets worse.” A twirl of red exited through a doorway.
“I can’t I’m here to…” Tara’s voice drifted as she looked around and found herself in a different place again. “Help.” She added to the air.
“Get out of my way Xander.” Willow cursed as she raised her arms again and a dark pillar of magic flowed out of her towards a nearby statue. “You can’t stop me, all this pain, all of it will end.”
“Oh Goddess Willow baby.” Tara shuffled forward in the dreamscape to get a better look at what was happening.
“All of it will stop...” Willow’s dark eyes started to cry. “All of the agony, all of the pain, all of the despair... all of it will stop. I have to make it stop.”
“There are other ways.” The dark haired man offered softly.
Tara merely focused on her lover or what she took to be her lover as the overwhelming darkness nearly made her hard to recognise.
“There is no way, only this.” Willow focused more into the spell and ignored his approach.
“Tara wouldn’t want this.” Xander put forward stepping in to stop the beam.
“AHHHH!” Willow lashed out and gashes appeared on his face and across his chest. Tara watched in horror as Xander reached up his hand to hold against his bleeding face.
“Don’t make it end this way.” He shook his head at her trying to ignore the pain.
“It gets worse.” The ethereal voice broke in again to call to Tara. “You should go now.”
Tara’s head snapped round trying to pinpoint the voice.
“I’m not going anywhere.” She called knowing her voice wouldn’t change the scene that played out in all its agony before her.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The voice faded out again.
“I’m not going until things change.” She called out in explanation this time catching a glimpse of a sneaker as a figure hurried out of sight.
“Oh they will change.” The voice warned as a curtain of dark covered the scene and it was obvious again that she was in a forest, though it was not a magical place.
In a hurried dash, Willow came running into Tara’s vision and tripped on a root in the dark landing face down in the leaves.
“Please, please leave me alone.” She begged pushing up to her feet again.
Tara looked over Willow’s fallen body into the darkness beyond screwing her eyes up a little tying to peer into the thick blackness to see what it was that her lover was fleeing from. Again there was a glimpse of red hair and green eyes but nothing more.
“No, no.” Willow pushed forward blindly trying to flee and her struggle made Tara reach down to her.
“Baby.” She offered wondering if she could interact within this place.
“Tara, oh baby we have to run.” Willow grabbed at her lover’s hand and pulled the blonde to her. “We have to... Oh God it’s coming.” She tugged harder. “I can’t stop it. I can’t control it.”
“What is?” Tara pushed for details as she felt her feet shuffle forward and then be pushed into a run.
“Me.” Willow’s face was full of absolute pure horror.
“Maybe we shouldn’t run.” Tara pointed out as she narrowly missed pitching face forward over a tree branch.
“No, I’m evil. I’m crazy, I’ll hurt you.” Willow tried to pull her harder. “Please baby, please we have to go.”
“I don’t believe you’d ever hurt me.” Tara started to run again as she regained her foothold.
“I didn’t mean too, it was the magic...” The world faded away again and Willow’s voice wasn’t right next to her anymore but instead across their bedroom.
“Are you still mad?” Willow turned back towards their bed with a small dried flower in her hands.
“Mad?” Tara felt a little dizzy and disorientated and was glad she was lying down now as the room settled in around her.
“Oh nothing.” Willow smiled and moved over to get into bed.
Tara glanced around, everything looked some how similar and yet at the same time the Wicca couldn’t remember any of it. As soon as the redhead was in the bed beside her Tara snuggled up to her, feeling like it was the most natural thing in the world. It was at that moment, as Willow’s arm came around to hold her that the sound of soft crying could be heard at the end of the bed.
“Why? Why did I do it?” Another tired and tear stained Willow was kneeled sobbing more as she too watched the scene of them in bed.
“Oh your feet are…” Tara began but stopped pushing up out of her lover’s arms to look confused at the second Willow at the end of the bed.
“I didn’t have too, I just had to admit I had a problem. She would have forgiven me. She would have helped me get better.” Willow prayed at the end of the bed as if it was an altar to her own salvation.
Tara pulled the sheet back and stepped out of the bed finding it so hard to see her Willow in so much pain.
“Do what Willow? What did you do?” She asked glancing back at the other Willow in the bed who lay on her side with a slightly smug expression on her face.
“I was scared, scared of losing you but what I did was what made you leave me.” Willow sobbed more throwing her hands out onto the bed.
“Leave you?” Tara felt her voice stumble over the words.
“I never meant to hurt you... I never meant to make you forget.” Willow buried her head into the comforter sobbing louder.
Tara looked around almost slightly panicked and as she did the bedroom door banged slightly as if someone had just hurried out of it. She made an instant decision and pushed herself to the door, Tara pulled it open roughly catching sight of a sock covered leg and again a brightly coloured sneaker as they disappeared around the corner.
At the same time she came face to face with herself coming down the hall, the second Tara passing through her as if she was just a ghost. She wore a long dark leather coat and her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail.
“Things fall apart.” Her own voice began and she felt compelled to follow herself back as she heard her words continuing. “They fall apart so hard...”
She passed through her clone into the room to see that Willow was calm and sitting on the bed in a different outfit staring at her figure in the doorway.
“Tara?” The redhead spoke as if surprised to see her.
“You can’t ever put them back the way they were.” The other Tara continued.
“Are you okay?” Willow enquired nervously and shifted her position on the bed to sit on her hands.
“I’m sorry, it’s just, you know, it takes time.” The other Tara stepped fully into the room. “You can’t just ... have coffee and expect, She watched as Willow Dropped her gaze and whispered.
“ I know.” Willow’s gaze dropped.
“There’s just so much to work through. Trust has to be built again, on both sides… You have to learn if... if we’re even the same people we were, if you can fit in each other’s lives. It’s a long... important process, and ... can we just skip it? Can-can you just be kissing me now?”
Tara watched from the doorway as Willow pushed up from the bed and crossed to her other self. There was something so beautiful and yet so sad about the way the two kissed. So needy and so desperate as if their separation had been long and painful.
In an instant the somewhat loving scene turned as if a watershed of blood had covered over her vision and all the love was instantly lost.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Willow cradled Tara’s dead body in her arms. “NOOOOOOOOO!” Her eyes went a deep red. “Please baby, please.” She sobbed.
Tara found that she could view this scene from anywhere in the room as if there was no fix for her form or outlook but the pain, misery and anger didn’t look any different from whichever angle it was viewed.
“It gets bad after this, you really should go.” The little voice urged her. “She’s almost at the split, please just go.”
“Who are you?” Tara turned away form the nightmare vision looking around. “Why do you hide yourself running round in shadows?”
“You don’t know me.” The voice pulled at Tara to go back into the hall as the squeak of a sneaker passed by.
Tara instantly pushed to follow, she couldn’t watch what the dream was showing her there had to be something else to see.
“Do you know me?” She pushed.
“Of course.” The voice moved off further as the hallway melted into something much different. The walls were lined with tall metal lockers and before long Tara was faced with a pair of wooden doors that read Sunnydale High Library above them.
“How do you know me, I’ve never been here.” Tara frowned looking to find out where the shadow had gone now.
“Easy.” The doors opened slowly and back further in by the long central table a young slim figure stood waiting. Her dark red hair was long and cut off bluntly. She worse white and red sneakers with tall white knee socks under a pattered wool skirt. A white shirt and knit red sweater vest finished out her conservative outfit. “I’m Willow Rosenberg.” She stated softly.
“Willow?” Tara gasped in surprise. “When? Where? How old are you?” She managed to ask as she looked around the library.
“I’m sixteen.” Willow reached up and flicked her hair over her shoulder.
“Why are you here?” Tara asked softly.
“I’m always here.” Willow shrugged.
“Oh of course.” Tara shook her head at her own silly question. “Do you know what’s happened?”
“The magic.” Willow frowned so hard it pulled to make her eyes sad.
As Tara opened her mouth to ask another question the edges of the library seemed to shake a little or blur catching her attention and dragging it away slightly.
“You really have to go.” The younger Willow rushed forward. “The magic comes and then everything is hard to control. You’re not safe.”
“But Willow I came to save her, to save you.” Tara shook her head.
“You can’t.” Willow shook her head frowning more. “It’s getting worse.” She looked around scared. “I can’t keep it from growing.”
“Willow, please I want to help you.” Tara reached out for the young hand, but it was obvious from the way the redhead was baking off that she wasn’t going to take it as the darkness at the edges of the rooms grew into thick borders of nothingness.
“No, you have to go please.” Willow did back off just as Tara expected her too. “It gets so dark.” She turned and ran up the stairs towards the stacks of books.
“But I can be your light Willow.” Tara called but suddenly the whole room seemed to spin into a vortex of darkness and books. It went around and around like a tornado of destruction dragging Tara into the centre.
******
by KathleenWolf » Fri Aug 09, 2002 2:03 am 
K
You're teasing us, Kath. That is so not fair! 
Looking forward to reading what happens next. 
) This is an amazing episode. So much to say, where to start?
) - While canon Buffy has always been portrayed as straight, albeit with subtext between her and Faith, I have always loved B/F fic and I can totally see her and Mads getting together. I will trust you to make it real, whatever you decide, as others have said. The bottom line for me is that Buffy has been so lonely for so long, and I would love to see her find someone. (hmmm.....do I want art to imitate life? 
) 
