Author: SarahElaine
E-mail:
sarahelaine814@yahoo.comTitle: Tara’s Restless
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If only I owned everything Buffy…that’d be the life…unfortunately, I don’t. So don’t sue. Cause you wouldn’t get ANYTHING.
Trust me.
Distribution: Want…take…have. But ask first
Summary: This is a response to my friend Alex’s train challenge. If you want to read the challenge, go to
www.angelfire.com/tx5/mus...main.html. What would Tara’s dream have been if she had been at Buffy’s for Restless? This is written in script form and takes place between Willow and Xander’s dreams.
Spoilers: SPOILER HEAVY! INVOLVES POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR EPISODES THAT HAVEN’T YET AIRED! IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW, DON’T READ THIS FIC!
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(Tara is in a train compartment, sleeping. Her head is against the closed window. There is a knock at the door and Tara jerks awake, looking around in confusion.)
TARA: Where am I?
(The knock is repeated.)
TARA: C-come in.
(Warren enters the compartment and takes a seat next to Tara. He pulls a banana out of his pocket and studies it intently.)
WARREN: Don’t worry. It’s not loaded. I can’t even find the trigger. I don’t think it’s changed yet.
(Warren throws the banana out the now open window. It hovers for a moment by Tara’s head and then falls out of sight.)
TARA: Who are you?
WARREN: I’m Warren. I’m invisible.
TARA: I can see you.
WARREN: Obviously. No one can see you either. But not for the same reasons. I’m invisible and you’re just un-seeable. It’s completely logical. Like a math equation.
TARA: Where are we going?
WARREN: Angel’s. I’m escorting you.
TARA: We’re taking a train to L.A.? That’s weird.
WARREN: We aren’t going to L.A. We’re going up.
(Warren points to the window, which is again closed. Tara turns her head to see what he’s pointing at. Buffy, dressed in a straightjacket and wearing a Superman cape, is flying next to the window, her arms out in front of her in true Superman-style. The strings from the straitjacket arms are fluttering in the wind. Tara looks back at Warren.)
WARREN: She’s already been. She thinks it’s a hallucination. And when her cape turns black she won’t even remember.
(Tara turns her head again to look at Buffy, but the Slayer is gone. The camera zooms in on a quickly approaching sign. It says, “Welcome to Wisconsin.”)
TARA: What’s in Wisconsin?
(The compartment door opens and the bald man enters the compartment. He starts flinging cheese slices out the again open window.)
BALD MAN: It’s the cheese state! Like a fugue state only cheesier!
(The bald man runs out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Tara stands up.)
TARA: This is too confusing. I’m getting out of here.
(Warren pulls a slice of cheese off of the closed window and starts eating it.)
WARREN: The doors don’t work. You can think about leaving but not too hard. You don’t want to sing about it. You might as well stay and have cake. There might be some ice packs for muscle cramps.
(Tara walks to the door and pushes it. It opens easily and she looks back at Warren. He waves at her. She walks through the doorway into a pitch-black corridor. The sounds of fluttering can be heard and there is a slight glow around Tara, but nothing else can be seen. She looks down and realizes that she is holding a flashlight. She turns it on and shines it at the walls, which are covered with reaching hands. She shrieks and drops the flashlight, which lands at Willow’s feet. Willow picks it up and hands it to her. Tara shines the light at the walls again and the hands are gone.)
TARA: Thank you.
WILLOW: I did it the hard way, you know. And no one thanks me.
TARA: I just did.
WILLOW: You did what?
TARA: Thanked you.
WILLOW: But you’re not even here. It does me no good. And just when I was starting to feel better again. Those bananas are kleptomaniacs.
TARA: What do you mean I’m not here?
WILLOW: Look around you.
(The corridor fades out and Tara is in her dorm room. Buffy is standing in front of her, now in normal clothes.)
TARA: What’s going on here?
BUFFY: You’re the one that knows. We all look to you for the nine-one-one; the information.
TARA: Don’t you mean the four-one-one?
BUFFY: Whatever. You’re our knowledge guy.
TARA: Isn’t that Giles?
BUFFY: When he’s off duty, you have to do it. Or Anya. And she’s so blunt. I don’t know that she could cope with Watching.
TARA: I don’t know that I could handle that. It’s a big responsibility, Buffy.
BUFFY: Silly girl, I’m not Buffy.
TARA: Who are you?
BUFFY: That’s not important. You’ve got to have faith that the dawn will come.
(Buffy points out the window and Tara turns to look. The desert landscape has replaced the view of campus and heat waves shimmer past the window. Tara turns back to Buffy and they are now standing in the middle of the desert.)
TARA: I’m a believer. There’s no doubt about that.
BUFFY: No one has doubts. They just have reservations. You’re never around anymore.
TARA: Where have I been?
BUFFY: You’ve been here the whole time. We just didn’t know.
(Buffy turns and starts walking away.)
TARA: Where are you going?
BUFFY: I’ve got to practice my leaping. It’s a vital skill. You never know when it might come in handy. Plus it’s much more effective than lying down among the mats. Although not nearly as entertaining. Do you think I’d look good blonde?
TARA: You are blonde.
BUFFY: It’s not me I’m worried about.
(Buffy shimmers and fades away. Tara turns and comes face-to-face with Willow.)
TARA: I’m so glad you’re back. I think something weird is going on. No one is ever who they seem. And I’m worried about Buffy.
WILLOW: Don’t worry. She’ll be back.
(Willow reaches out and strokes Tara’s cheek. Tara closes her eyes and smiles as Willow’s hand caresses her neck. Tara opens her eyes and Willow has changed into the creature that attacked Willow in the last dream. Tara’s eyes open wider as the creature grips Tara’s throat and pulls out her esophagus. The creature smiles and begins to speak. It moves it’s mouth but Tara’s voice comes from it.)
CREATURE: You won’t need this soon. Don’t be selfish and let me use it for a while. I won’t tell them about you.
(The creature walks off the screen and Tara falls to the ground, gasping. The desert scene fades and is replaced with Buffy’s living room. Willow is still lying in the chair, gasping. Tara writhes on the floor, grabbing her throat.)
Thanks for reading!
SarahElaine
"There's so much to work through, trust has to build again on both sides, you have to learn if you are even the same people you were, if you can fit in each other's lives, it's a long and important process and can we just skip it, and can you just be kissing me now?" Tara
Edited by: sarahelaine814 at: 4/29/02 9:30:22 am
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Pease,I wanna read more by you.
I'm a spoiler whore and read the wildfeed this morning and then came and checked for replies and read yours and felt SO BAD! I'm glad that you like it, though. 