Another strong update. Looking forward to more.
------------------
She's my everything!
by Tiggrscorpio » Fri Feb 01, 2002 8:06 pm
------------------
She's my everything!
by Pixie » Fri Feb 01, 2002 8:11 pm
This was great!! I'm so relieved that the gang figured it out, but I want Rack to get stepped on. I loved Anya offering Tara options for comfort, and also Tara's feelings and thought process. Can't wait for more.
[This message has been edited by Pixie (edited February 01, 2002).]
by Malia » Fri Feb 01, 2002 10:40 pm
------------------
"*Gasp*I'm cured! I want the boys!*Giggle*"
-She was kidding and so am I;)
by Thanatopsis » Fri Feb 01, 2002 11:01 pm
T
------------------
DAWN: I gave birth to a pterodactyl.
ANYA: Oh my god, did it sing?
by Lonewolf » Sat Feb 02, 2002 12:50 am
Lonewolf
by Kirk B » Sat Feb 02, 2002 9:19 am
Sorry, couldn't resist.
But seriously, I like where you're going with this story. And I'm glad the Scoobies know it wasn't Willow doing this too, though given everything that's happened I can certainly understand their apprehensions.
I, not for the first time, find myself agreeing with Anya. Rack definitely needs a good being killed, preferably several times over (which actually should be possible in a place like Sunnydale).
As for Amy, well...I have a feeling she may not survive this story, one way or the other, but I also wonder if whatever happens to her doesn't have her trying to help Will in some way.
Great story. Looking forward to the next part.
------------------
Kirk B
"A Willow is a tree that weeps, but Tara is firmer and will hold.”
Hear that baby? You're my always.
I got so lost.
I found you. I will always find you.
by mollyig » Mon Feb 04, 2002 2:40 am
Thought this was really funny:
I thought that with all the things that go on here it was only a matter of time before
something like this happened and it would be nice to have a picture of the demon Buffy
needed to kill for me. After she took its money to pay for damages of course
------------------
Now that I know there's something to know, I can't *not* know, just because I'm afraid
somebody'll know I know, you know?
by Garner » Mon Feb 04, 2002 2:29 pm
by canadian kitty » Mon Feb 04, 2002 3:46 pm
Anyway here's the next part. I had to post it in two parts.
Again thanks for all the feedback. I'm sure Rack will get what's coming to him, although Pixie, I don't think any of the gang has feet big enough to give Rack a really good literal stepping on. Maybe Xander but we all know he never kills the bad guy. He's always to busy getting the crap beat out of him by a lowly vamp or something.
As for trite story formulas, why Malia I would never do such a thing. *feverishly deletes airport scene while re-reading rest of story, searching for triteness* nope, never.
Here ya go. enjoy.
Title: Reunited
Rating: PG
Couples: W/T
Spoilers: Oh yeah, right up to Gone. If you're trying to stay clean then flee! Flee now!
Notes: Willow and Tara are the main focus of this story, however I tried to write it as I thought it might play out on the show (Pffff! Listen to me. As if this piece of crud will ever even remotely resemble the brilliant plot twists Josh has planned for us this season) so all main characters have their scenes. Think of it as a W/T centric episode with all those annoying filler scenes revolving around the other, less important characters, as sandwich breaks.
Archiving: Umm, ok. But asked first.
Feedback: Sure. Take special care to point out all the plot holes and dumbass mistakes. Although I think Rane has saved me from most of the impending embarrassment.
Copyright: In the fantasy world in which I spend most of my time BTVS, all its characters, spin-offs, comic books, animated series, merchandise, etc, are mine all mine. But in the real world, a place I rarely visit, they belong to some guy called Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Summary: I am way too long-winded to sum up this story in a few lines.
Thanks: I humbly bow to my magnificent beta reader Rane, without whom this story would certainly never have been written, let alone posted. Oh great Weevil Faerie Otter Princess I know you and Ruth share a miraculous love but, marry me?
Part 7
After leaving the Magic Box earlier that afternoon they had checked the university campus, thinking that perhaps they would find her in the lab. But the graduate student they'd given a small heart attack when Buffy had thrown open the lab door a little too forcefully, had informed them that Willow had not been in since that morning. "She's probably home packing," the student yelled as they had been leaving.
They'd gone to the Rosenberg home next. When no one had answered their knocks, Buffy had used the spare key Willow's father kept hung under the first front step to open the door. But Willow wasn't there. The house had been quiet, but not eerily, and nothing had seemed out of place. Moreover, Tara's magical senses had been quiet. Nowhere in the house did she sense the magical signature she now believed to be Racks. And that was good.
But finding Willow would be better. Even if Rack wasn't actually after her, as Tara suspected, she still needed to tell Willow that what had happened in the cemetery hadn't been her fault; that she had been strong; and that their love was enough to beat Willow's magical addiction.
Tara rushed up the front steps to the Summer's home, Buffy right on her heels. 'She has to be here' thought Tara, trying to keep the panic building inside her in check. Tara reached for the doorknob, quickly opening the door and rushed into the house. "Will!" she yelled, making straight for the stairs. Buffy glanced at Tara, taking the stairs two at a time, as she veered off towards the kitchen. "I'll check out back," she hollered.
Tara headed straight down the hallway towards the slightly ajar door leading to Willow's bedroom. She poked her head through the crack. "Will?" she asked softly. But an empty room greeted her, one not only void of Willow but all her things as well. Tara, a bit dazed, stepped fully into the room, her eyes sweeping over the bare walls. The bed had been stripped of its sheets, two naked pillows piled at its foot. Tara walked haltingly over to the closet, sure of what she would find but less sure she wanted to face it.
She reached forward slowly, grasping the closet's handles. Taking a deep breath she swung the doors open. Empty. It was empty. Reality crashed down around Tara. Willow had left. She had been her for her things and then she had left. 'Willows gone. She's really gone. This can't be right. It can't, it isn't fair!' thought Tara as she stood looking into the empty closet.
That was how Buffy found her when she came into the room a few minutes later. "Tara." She said gently, coming up behind her. "She isn't downstairs. But there's no sign of a struggle or anything." Buffy glanced around the room. "I guess she just came to pick up her stuff and then left."
"Where is she?" Tara asked quietly, her gaze still locked on the empty closet. "She's not supposed to leave until Thursday. We have to find her. I have to tell her..." Tara's voice broke with emotion.
Buffy placed a hand on Tara's shoulder. "I know." She said understandingly. " Maybe we missed her in transit somewhere. I mean she didn't walk home with all her stuff so she must have called a cab or something."
Tara turned towards Buffy, a grateful smile on her face. "You're probably right Buffy. I'm just over..." her words died on her lips as her eyes fell on the room's desk. There, resting in the same spot she'd placed it last night was the dolls eye crystal. She silently brushed past Buffy and slowly picked up the crystal as the implication of it being there washed over her.
"Isn't that the crystal you gave Willow when you two first met?" Buffy asked as she stepped next to Tara.
"Yes" choked Tara as fear wound its way up her spine.
"She left it behind?" Buffy asked, stunned.
"No." Tara said firmly. "Willow would never forget this. Never." She looked directly at Buffy. "Something's happened to her. I know it."
"Do you feel anything, any magik?" Buffy didn't really need to ask, Tara's assertion that Willow was in trouble was enough for her.
"No. Not in here but I have to check the rest of the house." She said as she pocketed the crystal and quickly ran out of the room and down the stairs, Buffy following her. As soon as she entered the living room her fears were confirmed. She had been in such a hurry to get upstairs, hoping Willow would be there, that she had missed the magikal signature when she had first entered the house. Tara knew, without a doubt to whom it belonged. She could feel Rack's magik hanging heavily in the air, and with it was mixed a feeling of terror.
She turned to Buffy, fear in her eyes. "He has her."
*******
Willow slowly became aware of soft, warm breath tickling her ear. Her thoughts drifted to Tara and for an instant she forgot all that had happened, thinking she was lying in bed with Tara on a lazy Saturday morning. She smiled. But then the rhythm of the breathing changed, hitting her ear in little gasps as a low taunting chuckle broke the silence.
"Welcome back Strawberry." Said a gravely voice, causing Willow's terrifying memories to return to her in a flood. Her eyes shot open to find Rack looming closely above her. Panic raced through her and she pushed him backwards with all her strength. Which wasn't much. Whatever Rack had done to her at the house left her feeling weak and lightheaded. She crawled backwards as quickly as she could, stopping only when her back came up against a stone wall.
She looked quickly around for an escape. She seemed to be in some kind of cell, a tray with a bowl of food and a glass of water lying on the floor to her right. The cell's barred door lay behind Rack, slightly ajar. Beyond the bars she could make out a large room, illuminated by a few candles. Most of the walls were bathed in shadows but the walls near to her seemed to curve smoothly, indicating that at least part of the room was circular. To her right she could just barely make out the entrance to a hallway. Her eyes darted to the center of the room and then drifted upward, following the small stream of sunlight filtering through a cloudy sky and the dirty glass of a domed skylight.
Rack's hard laughter brought her eyes back to the cell. He stood up from the place where she had pushed him. "What's the matter Strawberry? Not happy to see me?" he sneered. "From the looks of you, I'd say you need me real bad."
"I don't need you." spat Willow, summoning her courage. "Ever again."
"Well, well." snorted Rack. "I see you still have some fire left. That's what I like about you." He took another step forward, closing the gap between Willow and him.
"Don't come any closer," threatened Willow weakly.
"Or you'll what. Push me again? Cause that really hurt." He mocked as he stepped even closer. "Why don't you really hurt me? You know you can. One little spell and I bet you could send me flying right back against those bars, maybe even through them." He was very close now. He leaned down, closer still, his eyes taunting Willow. "You know you want to, have to. The magic, it's part of you; it's what you are. Did you really think you could give it up?"
"I...I have given it up." Willow uttered feebly.
"Don't lie to me Strawberry." Rack demanded as he placed his hands against the wall on either side of Willow's head. "Me and you, were connected. I feel it every time you do magic. It tingles. And there's been plenty of tingles over the last few weeks."
"I... I've stumbled a bit, but not on purpose. I've been trying. They were just little mistakes," stated Willow.
"Little mistakes? Was that what killed those demons at the cemetery last night? Was that what hurt your friends?"
"That wasn't me, it was you! I know you were there. You made me use magic."
She defended, her heart racing. She needed to get out of there. But how? She didn't think she could overpower Rack physically. And magic wasn't an option. She'd lost Tara, her friends, everything. All she had left was herself and she wouldn't let the magic have her. Not again.
She had never been much for the physical side of patrolling. That was Buffy and Xanders' territory. Even Anya was almost better at it than she was. Still, after years of fighting for your life you tended to pick up things here and there. And if she had learned anything from Buffy it was that anything, even a glass of water, could make an effective weapon. She eyed the water glass resting on the tray near her and began slowly inching her hand towards it.
Rack suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders, causing her to halt her hand's progress towards the glass. "Don't fool yourself." He sneered harshly. "I didn't make you do anything. I just gave you a little push. The rest was all you." After a few moments his grip lessened and he brought one hand up to Willow's face, trailing a finger across her cheek. "The magic's swirling in you now isn't it. I can sense it. Just give in to what you feel right now."
As Willow's hand inched towards the glass she met Rack's eye. "You want me to give into what I feel right now? Fine." She said in a defeated tone, as her hand closed around the glass. "Right now I feel like smashing a glass into your head." With that she brought the glass down hard on his skull. It shattered at the impact and Rack dropped to the floor. Willow was up and running as fast as her wobbly legs would carry her. She yanked open the cell door and made for the hallway she had noticed earlier.
As she neared the exit she glanced back over her shoulder to see if Rack was following her and saw him starting to lift himself off the floor. Suddenly two hands gripped her by the arms. Her head snapped back around and she found herself staring into the face of a small, smiling man.
"Leaving so soon?" he questioned calmly.
Willow twisted from his grasp, lurching away from him. "Who are you?" she demanded.
"Oh I'm no one special." He replied. Willow spun, looking for another exit, only to be jolted backwards into the wall by a bolt of energy from Rack. Her head smacked against the stone wall hard and she slid down to the floor. Through blurry eyes she watched as Rack stepped closer to the older man and eyed him.
"I thought you'd be taller." She heard Rack say as she slipped into unconscious.
TBC.... as soon as I can post it.
******
by Thanatopsis » Tue Feb 05, 2002 3:32 pm
LOL "I thought you'd be taller." She heard Rack say as she slipped into unconscious.
T
------------------
DAWN: I gave birth to a pterodactyl.
ANYA: Oh my god, did it sing?
by canadian kitty » Tue Feb 05, 2002 7:06 pm
Now this is the part where you get so much information thrown at you that you feel like Xander does anytime he encounters an open book. Don't fall asleep during this part or you'll have absolutely no idea what to hell is going on. Of course I may have explained things so poorly that even if you do prop the eyelips open with toothpicks you'll still have absolutely no idea what to hell is going on. I did my best. Enjoy.
Title: Reunited
Rating: PG
Couples: W/T
Spoilers: Oh yeah, right up to Gone. If you're trying to stay clean then flee! Flee now!
Notes: Willow and Tara are the main focus of this story, however I tried to write it as I thought it might play out on the show (Pffff! Listen to me. As if this piece of crud will ever even remotely resemble the brilliant plot twists Josh has planned for us this season) so all main characters have their scenes. Think of it as a W/T centric episode with all those annoying filler scenes revolving around the other, less important characters, as sandwich breaks.
Archiving: Umm, ok. But asked first.
Feedback: Sure. Take special care to point out all the plot holes and dumbass mistakes. Although I think Rane has saved me from most of the impending embarrassment.
Copyright: In the fantasy world in which I spend most of my time BTVS, all its characters, spin-offs, comic books, animated series, merchandise, etc, are mine all mine. But in the real world, a place I rarely visit, they belong to some guy called Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Summary: I am way too long-winded to sum up this story in a few lines.
Thanks: I humbly bow to my magnificent beta reader Rane, without whom this story would certainly never have been written, let alone posted. Oh great Weevil Faerie Otter Princess I know you and Ruth share a miraculous love but, marry me?
Part 8
"What about this?" asked Xander, passing an open book to Anya who was seated besides him at the research table.
Anya peered at the picture in the book and then up at Xander, one eyebrow raised. "Those are earrings Xander." She sighed as she handed the book back to him.
"But they're red." Xander added hopefully. Anya shot him a look. "I know." He moaned. "But I'm getting desperate. We've got nothing. None of these charms, amulets and do-hickeys look anything like the necklace. It's downright-" Xander was interrupted by the shop door opening as Buffy and Tara entered, worry etched on their faces. Xander's chest tightened when he noticed a certain redhead didn't accompany them. He stood up as they approached the table. "Did you find her?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
Buffy glanced at Tara and then looked back at Xander. "Rack has her."
"How-" Xander began only to be cut off as Buffy continued. "We went to the house. All of her things were gone except for the crystal Tara gave her. Tara sensed the same magikal signature as she felt here and at the cemetery. It's Rack." She ended firmly.
"Well let's grab some sharp edges and go get Willow back." Demanded Xander as he started towards the weapons trunk.
"Xander wait." Buffy grabbed Xander's arm gently. "I'm all for saving Willow. Believe me I'm going to introduce this guy to some serious pain, but we don't have any idea where to look or what we're walking into."
"Buffy's right." Tara added. "If we want to help Willow we have to know what he's planning."
Truth was it was taking all of Tara's willpower to not grab herself a pointy edge and go charging out the door in search of Willow. The thought of what Rack might be doing to Willow while they sat there talking was making her whole body ache. Still, she knew that the more information they collected now the better equipped they'd be to help Willow. 'If she were here right now she'd already be neck deep in the books' Tara thought gloomily.
Tara looked back and forth between Xander and Anya. "What did you guys find?"
"A whole lot of nothing." Xander said as he moved back to his chair and sat down. "That necklace just isn't in any of the books. We didn't have any luck with the crypt name either."
"Oh, we already figured the crypt thing out." Buffy informed them. "Well, Willow did. It comes from the word Veii. Some Etruscan city."
"Veii." Anya mumbled, her voice carrying a hint of recognition.
"I think you and Anya were helping a customer when she found it. I guess with everything that was happening we forgot to tell you. Sorry." Tara explained apologetically as the gang continued to converse, oblivious to the expression of growing concern on Anya's face.
"Veii? That sounds.... oh no." Anya murmured in a doomed tone.
"That's ok Tara." Smiled Xander. "I guess it's back to the books."
"Excuse me!" yelled Anya, her hand waving furiously in the air. "I just said the words 'Oh no' in a very concerned and fearful voice. In human circles that would indicate that I had something further to add. You should all really learn how to read people better. Like me." She scolded as she glanced around at the group, noticing a mixture of annoyed and pleading expressions "Like right now I can tell that you would all very much like for me to divulge the information I have."
"Yes please." Buffy uttered impatiently.
"Well I think I might know what the necklace is. And if it is what I think it is then we're in big trouble." Anya said, drawing out the drama.
"An." Smiled Xander as he took Anya's hand in his own, trying to encourage her to get on with the story.
The sound of the front door bell chiming prevented Anya from complying with Xander's unspoken request. They all turned to see Spike scurrying into the shop with his slightly smoking jacket pulled up over his head.
Xander rose from his chair, releasing his hold on Anya's hand. With testosterone pumping, he glared at Spike. "What to hell do you want?"
Spike shot a puff of air out of his mouth in disgust. "Don't get all posturey with me monkey boy. I'm just her to collect the packet of blood I left in the training room's mini fridge." Spike continued to the back of the shop, giving Buffy a glare as he passed her just a bit closer than was necessary. She attempted to ignore him.
Spike's presence had interrupted the meetings flow and several moments passed in silence as they listened to him rummage in the back for his blood while they attempted to regain focus. As he stepped back into the room Anya began her story.
"It was called the 'Destroyer of Cities' by the Romans. The necklace was a gift from the goddess Uni to a mortal, an Etruscan high priest. From the city of Veii." She added, trying to connect the dots for them.
"A gift from a goddess. He must have been doing something right." quipped Spike, earning himself several icy stares. Spike hovered, leaning against the glass counter by the cash register, pretending to examine the quality of the blood in the packet he held. In addition to wanting to retrieve his blood, Spike had also wanted to see what the Scoobies were up too, what Buffy was up too. He'd lost count of the times they kicked him to the curb and each time they'd eventually welcomed him back. 'Well maybe not welcomed exactly' he thought. But still, they'd need him for some reason or another and then he'd be back in Buffy's good graces
"He was sleeping with her." Anya stated, nodding her head enthusiastically.
Buffy and Tara, sensing a long ex-demon story took their seats around the research table. Xander continued to stand, shooting glares at Spike every so often.
"Anya, could we have the condensed version? Please?" Said Tara with more patience than she felt. Anya's stories often got out of hand, sprouting tangents like trees sprout leaves in the spring. Normally Tara didn't mind, in fact she often found them more interesting than she would ever admit to the other Scoobies, especially Willow. But the longer they sat here, the longer it would be before they saved Willow, before she could hold the redhead and make everything better.
Anya looked understandingly at Tara. She could see that all this waiting was straining the blonde. In the time Anya had known her, Tara had changed quite a bit, becoming more at ease around the Scoobies and with herself. But most of the time she was still quiet and shy, preferring to let others talk while she listened. Tara was a good listener. Often when Anya told her stories to the group no one paid any attention, except for Tara. Now however, with Willow in danger Tara was understandably less passive. Had it bee Xander in Willow's place Anya would feel the same.
She smiled sympathetically at Tara and then began.
"It was back when I first became a vengeance demon. The Etruscans were the big powers on the Italian peninsula at the time, before the Romans got all big headed and took everything over. The Etruscans were very into the whole mysticism thing. Chaos magic, witchcraft, you name it, they were doing it. Veii was kind of their mystical Mecca. All the important people: priests, priestesses, powerful magic users, they all hung out there, including a fair amount of demons and dark magik users."
Suddenly Anya got a far off look in her eyes. "No one could rip out the still beating heart out of a sacrificial slave like the Etruscans,' she sighed, "and the entrail parties they used to throw were..." She stopped abruptly realizing she'd gone off on one of her tangents. She looked apologetically at Tara. "Sorry."
Tara merely smiled.
"Anyway." Anya continued. "Rumor had it that Uni and her high priest were having sex. It was all very hush hush until she gave him an amulet as a gift."
"Wait." Interjected Xander, as he took his seat again, tired of trying to stake Spike with icy glares. "Uni?"
"Etruscan queen of the gods. The Romans called her Juno." offered Buffy. They all turned to look at her. "What? I didn't sleep through all my classes."
"Yes, the Romans called her Juno. She was the wife of Jupiter, big boss of all the gods. Could there be less interruptions please?" ordered Anya as she glared at Buffy and Xander.
"We're sorry." Xander meekly replied.
After one last menacing stare Anya continued. "The amulet was very powerful. Juno," she emphasized for Buffy and Xander's benefit, "supposedly imbued it with a lot of her power. The wearer could control the elements, peoples will, all the big stuff. Even had it's own security system."
"Security system?" asked Tara.
"Yes. When the amulet was worn it protected the wearer from magikal attack. If anyone cast a spell in its presence they became linked to the amulet and it would drain them of their magikal energy, killing them and increasing the amulets power." Anya explained. Despite the circumstances she was enjoying being the center of attention. "Then of course there was the whole 'the amulet was made by a god and could therefore only be destroyed by a god' thing." She leaned forward, resting her arms on the table as she carried on with she story. "Pretty soon Jupiter found out about the gift and lost it. His way to get revenge was to curse the gem, making any human who wore it go insane." Anya sighed in disgust, rolling her eyes. "Gods. They never think anything through. I'm mean when you're a vengeance demon for over a thousand years you learn a few things and one of those things is that a vague curse is nobody's friend.
"What do you mean?" asked Xander.
Tara, picking up on Anya's meaning, beat her to the explanation. "By cursing it only for humans Jupiter left it wide open to be used by the demon world."
"That's right." Anya confirmed. "After the high priest went insane trying to use the amulet there were plenty of demons lining up to get their hands on it. They fought each other for it but eventually a demon called Docrasna gained control of the amulet."
"Who or what was this Docrasna?" Questioned Buffy.
Anya glanced at Buffy and shrugged her shoulders. "No one really knew him, or even what kind of demon he was. He always appeared as a human. A little, old, balding man, which by the way is a pretty pitiful human costume as far as they go. But I think the higher demons knew what he was. I remember Ta'hoffren being fairly upset over Docrasna having the amulet."
"So what did he do with it?" Asked Xander leaning back in his chair.
"Well nothing drastic at first. At least by demon standards." Anya amended. "But then he started getting all these big ideas. He placed most of his own magikal power in the amulet and began attacking other magik users and taking their power, increasing the amulets strength. Things were getting out of hand." she nodded her agreement, "But then Docrasna made a mistake."
Anya paused, waiting for the question. Stories had to be told in the proper way after all. Tara took up the challenge. "What did he do?"
"He destroyed the city of Veii." She stated factually. "He was miffed about someone overcharging him for piece of fruit at the market or something."
"Wait." Interjected Buffy. "I thought the Romans destroyed the city?"
"Right." Snorted Anya. "At that point the Romans couldn't have knocked down a shepard's hut, let alone a city like Veii. They only got their act together after they made that deal with some underworld big shot."
Spike getting tired of pretending to stare at his packet of blood walked over to the research table and leaned against the glass display case behind Tara. "So what, the cities survivors crucify him or something."
Buffy had been so absorbed in Anya's story that she hadn't realized Spike was still there. She stood up from her chair and took a step towards him. "Why are you still here?" she asked with an acid tone.
Spike shrugged, ignoring the hint to leave. "Just thought I'd hang about, see if you needed any help."
"I thought we already established how much help we need from you." Buffy answered sarcastically. Spike started to reply but was cut of by Tara softly pleading "Buffy, we actually might need his help. Let him stay, please. For Willow."
Buffy only hesitated for a second before giving in. If she had to endure Spike for a little while to save Willow then she'd do it. "Fine. Whatever." She said as she waved a hand dismissively at Spike. He smirked back at her. Buffy turned back to face the rest of the group, fighting the urge to rip the smirk of Spike's face. "So. Crucifixion? Lion pit?"
Anya shook her head. "No. There were no survivors."
"Then what?" snapped Buffy trying unsuccessfully to keep the irritation she felt building in her out of her voice. Spike's presence beside her was making her 'No fun Buffy'.
Anya glanced at Buffy with a wounded look on her face. "There's no need to get snappy."
Xander patted her hand affectionately. "So what happened An?"
Anya smiled at Xander and shot Buffy a cool look before she continued. "The city of Veii was the patron city of Jupiter. Back in those days if you wanted to piss of a god you destroyed a few of his temples or his cities. And believe me Jupiter was pissed. Of course it was his own fault really, what with that amateurish curse and all." Anya slowly shook her head. "So he finally decides that maybe the curse hadn't been such a great idea and sends his high priestess after Docrasna to kill him and destroy the amulet. She chased him for years, through about ten dimensions before she finally cornered him on a cliff somewhere in Ireland. There was a big battle but she finally torn the amulet from his neck and destroyed it."
Xander meekly raised his hand. "Ok, I'm confused again. I thought you said only a god could destroy the gem. So how did this priestess do it?"
"I said the amulet couldn't be destroyed. But its power could." Anya explained. "What was special about the amulet was that it was capable of holding so much power. Magik users, human or demon, are limited in their use of magik by the amount of power they can harness. Eventually they reach a maximum."
"Anya's right." Offered Tara. "Even the most powerful magik users will eventually reach a point they can't go beyond by themselves. Their bodies simply wouldn't be able to handle the amount of power they wanted to channel. That's why amulets, charms and talismans are sometimes so useful."
Anya nodded her head in agreement. "Right. Jupiter's priestess was the keeper of the Tagetic Codex, the Etruscan mystical books. She cast a spell from the books that used the amulet's own power to break it, releasing the power stored within it. Once the spell was complete she opened a dimensional portal to toss the pieces into."
"I'm guessing she was a really bad shot because at least one of those pieces didn't make the trans-dimensional trip." Observed Xander.
"Well, there was a slight problem." Anya cautiously proceeded, glancing at Tara. "In order to use the amulet to work the spell she had to put the amulet on." Anya proceeded lightly. "And because she was human she was exposed to the curse."
"She went insane." Stated Tara, her voice heavy with emotion. She knew what it was like to lose ones sanity. When Glory had attacked her it had been like falling through an ice covered lake and being trapped underneath, the cold making everything numb; the water turning murky with dirt and muck kicked up from the bottom as she sank further and further away from the thin layer of ice; from sanity. Despite the numbness of her mind and the murkiness of her thoughts she had known that if she could just break through the ice she would be free. But as much as she pounded against the ice it never cracked and broke. Until Willow had come for her. Willow had shattered the ice with one blow and freed her from her prison.
Anya, feeling uncomfortable with the memories the story had dredged up, glanced around the table. But both Buffy and Xander seemed to feel equally as awkward. Only Spike seemed oblivious to everyone's discomfort. "So she went bonkers before she could get both pieces through the portal?"
"Spike!" shouted Buffy.
Shaking of those terrible memories Tara looked up at Buffy. "It's ok Buffy." She said softly then turned to Anya. "Is that what happened?"
"Yes." Said Anya. "Part of the amulet was still on the chain around her neck. She probably would have been all right if she had taken it off immediately after the spell but she was so caught up in creating the portal and everything that she forgot. By the time she had thrown one piece through she was pretty gone." Anya furrowed her brow sympathetically. "I guess at that point she thought it was a better idea to jump of the cliff with her piece of the amulet than to throw it into another dimension."
"Ok. Let's stop for a second. I mean this story has been very informative and all but what does this have to do with Willow, and Rack?" Inquired Xander. "Is Rack trying to get Willow to help him find the other piece or put it back together or something?"
"Not likely," said Spike. "Rack's a warlock, not a demon. He's human."
"Unless Rack's not the one that wants the amulet." Said Tara slowly, the pieces starting to fall into place for her.
"You think Rack's working for a demon?" Buffy asked, looking down at Tara.
"It's possible." Interjected Anya. "But there wouldn't be many who would go to all this trouble. Most demons think it's just a myth now anyway."
Tara looked around slowly at the group. "Except for one. Docrasna. He wouldn't think it was a myth and he would go to all this trouble."
"That would suck." said Anya. "No one was ever sure what happened to him after the battle. Most just assumed the priestess killed him.
"But even if that's true. Even if it is him after the amulet," persisted Xander. "it still doesn't explain what they would want with Willow."
"Are you really that dense?" snorted Spike. "Reds a right powerful witch. All that showin off she was doing before was bound to attract someone's attention. This Docrasna can't put back together his little magikal toy and not have any power around to charge it up with. From what the ex-demons told us, all Willow would have to do is one spell in front of this amulet while he is wearing it and it's goodbye Red."
"But Willow wouldn't cast a spell. Not if she thought something was up." Defended Buffy.
"Yeah right. She's been so in control of her magik lately." Spike said sarcastically. "Besides even if she won't, they might have ways of convincing her to."
The way Spike hit the word 'convincing' left Tara little doubt as to what the vampire meant. A new wave of fear rushed through her body and she felt she could no longer sit here doing nothing while somewhere out there someone could be hurting Willow. How long were they just going to sit and talk? How long had they been doing it? Ten minutes? An hour? Longer? She rose quickly from her seat.
"We have to find her, before they hurt her." She said as she tried to make it passed Buffy. But the slayer wasn't having it. She stepped in front of Tara and placed her hands on Tara's shoulders. " Tara." She said, looking into blue eyes that were wilder than she'd ever seen them. "Just give us a little more time. Were going to figure this out. And when we do we'll be able to save Willow." But Tara didn't want to give in. Thoughts of Willow being tortured, Willow being subjected to one of Rack's 'spells', they were building a rage within her that she'd never felt before.
Buffy knew that look. She'd seen it before on a certain redhead at the hospital after Tara had been brain sucked by Glory. And she didn't want to go through that again. She decided to try a different tactic. "I've seen that look before. It was what Willow had in her eyes just before she went after Glory. Before she used dark magik." She said evenly, her eyes never leaving Tara's. Tara blinked, and her eyes softened, but only a bit. She took a breath. "If he hurts her," she stated in an eerily calm voice "nothing will save him from me."
Buffy blinked a few times, trying to reign in her surprise at Tara's statement. Finally she managed a "Fine" and gently pushed Tara back into her seat. As soon as Tara sat it was like her whole body deflated. Her head bowed and her shoulders slumped forward. She wanted so much to break down and cry but she couldn't, not until she was sure Willow was safe. Then she could lock herself in her dorm room and cry for days if she wanted. But now she had to be strong for Willow.
Silent looks were exchanged around the table as Tara's statement was absorbed. Xander finally broke to silence. "Aren't we kind of getting ahead of ourselves?" He began. "I mean the other piece of the amulet could be in any one of a trillion dimensions. That's definitely like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Actually it would be like looking for a needle in the world of hay." Added Anya.
Xander smiled at Anya, deciding to save his questions on the world of hay for later. "Right. So unless this guy is more than lottery lucky he hasn't found the other piece. He's only had what, a thousand years or so to look through all those dimensions, one by one. I think, for once, the odds are in our favor."
Spike's face became serious as a thought occurred to him. "Unless he recently got the opportunity to look into all of them at once." He said grimly.
"Glory" uttered Buffy as the realization hit her. "When she used Dawn to open the barriers between dimensions.
"Right on the nose Slayer. An event, which also featured a little, old, balding man who bleedin well pushed me of a tower.
"Doc." Xander's eyes became bright and wide, "Docrasna!" Xander yelled excitedly, proud at having put two and two together and actually getting four. His enthusiasm quickly dissipated. "This is not good. Not good at all."
Buffy quickly switched into slayer mode. "Talk time is over. We have to stop Doc from hurting Willow and getting this amulet up and running. If he's got both pieces, which he probably does, then we have to assume he might already have them back together." She turned to Tara. "Tara, you and Anya see if we have a copy of that codex. Find the spell the priestess used to break the amulet and figure out a way to cast it without someone going crazy." She walked over and grabbed a sword leaning against the wall. She turned back to the group. "Spike," he stepped towards the door, ready to accompany the Slayer, "you stay and help them. Xander you know where this Doc lives, you're with me."
"Why do I have to stay and look at the musty books?" whined Spike.
"Because the sun's still up and a pile of dust isn't going to be able to help me." Buffy said as she started towards the door, Xander following. "We'll meet back here in an hour."
The door closed and Spike turned to find Tara already busily digging through a large pile of books near the wall, her face set with determination. Anya walked up to Spike carrying an armload of dusty tomes and dumped them into Spikes arms as he struggled to catch them all. She patted his shoulder and smiled before turning back to the table and her own book pile. Spike glared at the back of her head and then looked down at his books. "Bugger" he mumbled as he flopped down on the step and began reading.
TBC.....
by BytrSuite » Tue Feb 05, 2002 10:20 pm
You brought Doc back! You also made Anya as annoying as she tends to be on the show, more useful though. Hee. Cool.
by mollyig » Wed Feb 06, 2002 5:11 am
------------------
Now that I know there's something to know, I can't *not* know, just because I'm afraid
somebody'll know I know, you know?
by Tiggrscorpio » Wed Feb 06, 2002 9:54 am
------------------
She's my everything!
by Garner » Wed Feb 06, 2002 2:44 pm
by ForeverPiper » Wed Feb 06, 2002 3:35 pm
-------------------------------------
Willow! Check you out! Witch-fu. -BUFFY
by canadian kitty » Wed Feb 06, 2002 6:14 pm
At any rate, here's the next part. things are starting to come to a head, which means the end draws near. Gulp.
Title: Reunited
Rating: PG
Couples: W/T
Spoilers: Oh yeah, right up to Gone. If you're trying to stay clean then flee! Flee now!
Notes: Willow and Tara are the main focus of this story, however I tried to write it as I thought it might play out on the show (Pffff! Listen to me. As if this piece of crud will ever even remotely resemble the brilliant plot twists Josh has planned for us this season) so all main characters have their scenes. Think of it as a W/T centric episode with all those annoying filler scenes revolving around the other, less important characters, as sandwich breaks.
Archiving: Umm, ok. But asked first.
Feedback: Sure. Take special care to point out all the plot holes and dumbass mistakes. Although I think Rane has saved me from most of the impending embarrassment.
Copyright: In the fantasy world in which I spend most of my time BTVS, all its characters, spin-offs, comic books, animated series, merchandise, etc, are mine all mine. But in the real world, a place I rarely visit, they belong to some guy called Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Summary: I am way too long-winded to sum up this story in a few lines.
Thanks: I humbly bow to my magnificent beta reader Rane, without whom this story would certainly never have been written, let alone posted. Oh great Weevil Faerie Otter Princess I know you and Ruth share a miraculous love but, marry me?
Part 9
Willow woke to the sound of faint humming and the feel of cold stone on her cheek. She opened her eyes to determine where she was and immediately wished she hadn't. Pain shot through her head and for a moment she thought it would explode. She clamped her eyes shut and took several deep, quiet breaths. The humming continued. As the pain lessened the memories of what had happened slowly filtered back to her. She was fairly certain she was back in the cell where she had fought with Rack earlier. 'Unless they decided to let me go and just dumped me in an alley. But I don't smell disgusting garbagey smell' Willow thought 'Actually it smells kinda nice in here. Like some kind of incense, sandlewood I think.' Whatever the source of the aroma it was helping to clear WillowÕs head. After several more minutes she felt ready to risk opening her eyes again.
Slowly she lifted her eyelids. Pain spread through her head again but it was not as intense as before and she found she could keep her eyes opened. She moved a hand slowly to the side of her head and felt her hair matted with dried blood. Willow withdrew her hand and looked at her surroundings. She was indeed back in the cell; this time its door was firmly closed and Willow could see a large lock hanging on the other side. She shifted her gaze from her cell into the room beyond. Moonlight peeked through where it found a clean spot in the skylight and many candles now lit the room. The increase in light had pushed back the shadows, revealing the room to be circular and larger than Willow would have guessed. In its center, under the dome, now stood a large stone altar. Except for a small clay incense holder, from which smoke curled, it's top was empty.
In addition to the hall she had attempted to escape through earlier, she could now make out a closed wooden door at the far end of the room. Close to the door was an old, wooden wardrobe. It lay on its side, jutting out from the wall at an odd angle. Willow's eyes completed their circle of the room and she saw an upturned table and chairs resting against the wall nearby her cell. 'Well this isn't very homey.' Thought Willow. 'And that humming is just disturbing. Eerie humming is never a sign of good things.' In her sweep of the room she hadn't seen anyone or anything that could be the source of the humming. 'Unless it's just in my head. It hit the wall pretty hard.' She mused, 'Although I'm not sure why my brain would be humming the theme from Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf"'.
Slowly she pushed herself up into a sitting position, fighting a wave of dizziness. After it had passed she ventured to stand but the wave of vertigo, now a tsunami, returned and Willow was forced to retreat to here knees. 'I guess I'll have to formulate my escape plan from a sitting position.' What she would be escaping from she had no idea, but she was certain it wasn't an evening full of chocolate and puppies. Rack's presence and the throb in her head attested to that.
'And who to heck was that other guy. Huge creep factor there.' She was certain she had never met him before, yet he seemed oddly familiar. Whoever he was, he had scared her. He had looked small and un-intimidating but Willow could feel the darkness rolling off him. Whatever they were planning she was sure this was his show. He was in charge, not Rack. But Willow didn't really find that very comforting.
Suddenly Willow noticed the humming getting nearer. She looked out into the room and could see a dim light moving down the hallway she had tried to escape through earlier. For a moment she considered lying back down and pretending to still be unconscious but then decided against it. 'Best to face whatever this is now' she thought grimly. So she sat frozen in place, eyes locked on the hallway as the humming grew louder and the light from the hall grew brighter.
******
ÒWhatÕs taking her so long. ItÕs been almost two hours.Ó Huffed Spike to no one in particular as he paced back and forth in front of the shopÕs front window. He glanced at the closed training room door. "And what's blondie doing back there anyway?"
Anya glanced up from her copy of Bridal Beauty. "TaraÕs preparing the ingredients for the spell." Anya's brow furrowed in confusion. "Although I don't know what she wanted with the cinquefoil and dragon's blood? They weren't called for.Ó She closed the magazine and laid it on the table as she gave her full attention to SpikeÕs fierce pacing.Ó Why are you so impatient anyway?"
"I'm not impatient."
"Yes you are."
Spike looked quickly up at Anya. "I am...." he started to yell but then changed his mind. He waved his hand through the air. "I'm just, you know, ready to get out there and fight the good fight."
Anya folded her arms and tilted her head to the side.
Spike stopped his pacing. "I feel like taking my rage out on some demons?" he tried.
Anya's eyebrows arched.
Spike scowled and huffed. "It's none of your bleedin business why I'm impatient!"
Anya smirked and then added casually. "Take it from the 1000 year old ex-demon. Obsessions never end well."
Spike shot her a look as the door to the shop opened. "Your late. " He snapped as Buffy and Xander entered. ÒThe sun went down an hour ago "
"Shut up Spike!" Buffy's glare making it clear to the vampire to back off. Spike sensibly shut his mouth.
"Did you find Doc?" Anya asked eagerly as she went up to Xander and gave him a hug.
"No. His place was cleaned out. We looked around at some of the demon hang outs but didn't find him." Buffy glanced around the shop. "Where's Tara."
"Oh, she's in the back getting the spell ingredients ready." Informed Anya.
"So you found the spell?" asked Buffy.
"Yes." Anya said as she moved to the research table and picked up a book. "This is the copy of the codex." She held it out to Buffy and Xander as they approached. "The spell is quite simple for an experienced witch to perform. It requires the caster to sprinkle a circle of the ingredients around them, put on the amulet and chant the spell. Then 'poof' or, in this case, 'crack' and the amulet breaks. It should be easy enough for Tara."
"How did you guys get around the unpleasant crazy curse?Ó Inquired Xander as he took the book from Anya and glanced at the page it was open too. He didn't really understand all the hocus pocus stuff. 'Best leave that to Will....well, Tara.'
Anya looked guiltily at the floor, then back up at Buffy and Xander. "Well," she began, suddenly not knowing what to do with her hands. "You see, we ummm"
"We didn't find a way around it." Said Tara as she emerged from the training room carrying a small leather pouch. "Did you find Doc?" she asked, changing the subject.
"No. He wasn't at his place." Buffy locked eyes with Tara. "What do you mean, you didn't find away around the curse? The spell is useless to us if you can't find a way to work it without having to put the amulet on." Buffy was sure she didn't like where things were about to go, nor did she like the look on Tara's face. It was much too much like Willow's resolve face.
"Buffy." Began Tara in a tone she hoped was convincing. "We thought of every thing we could, looked in every book. The spell will only work if the caster is wearing the amulet. There is no way around it."
"Then let me do it." Buffy stepped forward and reached out a hand to take the bag of herbs from Tara. "I'm a slayer, maybe the curse won't affect me."
"No." Tara said firmly. "The spell has to be cast by an experienced witch. It has to be cast by me."
"Tara." Said Xander. "This is, well, this is crazy. YouÕre human. You put on that amulet and you'll," Xander struggled for words, "bad, bad things will happen."
Buffy stepped closer to Tara. "Xander's right. You're not doing this. We'll find another way. This is too much for you to risk. Willow wouldn't want you to do this."
"There is no other way Buffy." Tara's voice was almost a shout. Certainly it was louder than any of the Scoobies had ever heard it. "At least not one that we have time to find. And this isn't about what Willow would want. She didn't want you to throw yourself of a tower and die but you did it. You did it because you had too." After a beat her voice softened and she continued. "I would do anything to save Willow, anything. But this isn't just about that now. Even if we save her, if I don't do this spell Doc will still have the amulet. Even if you kill him, how long will it be before someone just like him, or worse than him, finds the amulet and finishes what he started. Risking it all and making sacrifices for someone you love, something you believe in, isn't something only Slayers can do. Everyone in this room would make those sacrifices, have made them. I'm not any different."
Silent seconds passed as Tara and Buffy continued to stare at each other. Finally a small smile curled Buffy's lips. "Willow's a lucky girl to have you watching her back." She said. Here smile dropped away and her face became serious as she continued. "But as soon as the spells over that amulet is coming off. We're not losing you again."
Tara smiled back, certain that was as close to acquiesce as she was going to get with the Slayer. She quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "So, how do we find Doc?"
The Slayer shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Xander and I hit all the demon hot spots and found nothing. I guess our best bet is to head over to Willie's so I can pummel him for information."
"Actually." Came SpikeÕs voice from the counter where he had been standing quietly to avoid the Slayer's wrath. "I think I may know where we can start looking."
******
Doc emerged from the hallway carrying a single candle, followed by Rack and.... "Amy?" said Willow, shocked. All three turned to look at her. "Oh good your awake." Soothed Doc. "I was worried about you for a while. Nasty knock you too to the head."
"Amy, what's going on?" demanded Willow, her anger growing.
Amy looked as if she wanted to disappear into the wall, but managed to meet Willow's eyes. "Willow, I'm sorry. I just wanted things to be like they were before." She asserted apologetically. "I didn't know..."
"Shut up!" Rack snapped as he glared at Amy. He pointed his finger at Amy. "You. Shut. Up." He yelled, punctuating each word by jabbing the air with his finger. Then he turned and walked towards Willow's cell. "And you," he said dangerously, lifting the hair on the left side of his head to reveal a still bloodied cut. "I own you some serious pain."
"Now, now Mr. Rack. Remember what I said about that temper of yours." Commented Doc. "Please go collect the vials and my amulet and place them on the alter."
Rack continued to glare at Willow. Willow stared back. She was scared but wasn't about to show it. Not in front of Rack. She knew he thrived of it and she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction.
"Now Mr.Rack." There was a slight edge to Doc's voice as he spoke this time, the first Willow had ever heard. A threat hovered just below the surface of his words. Rack scowled and turned back towards the hallway. As he passed Amy he grabbed her roughly by the arm, shoving her towards the hall.
Doc approached the cell, his lips curled into a small smile. "Are you alright?" Doc gestured towards his head. "Nothing scrambled up there?"
Willow shook her head carefully, not wanting to awake the pain. "No" she said. She wasn't quite sure how to take his politeness. She was used to evil being, well, evil. With all the rudeness that entailed. Politeness in a demon? It was just unnerving.
"I'm sorry about Mr. Rack's behavior." Continued Doc. "I've warned him about that temper but the young ones never listen."
"What do you want from me?" asked Willow. She felt like shit and talking was making her head pulse with pain.
Doc's smile widened. "You're someone who likes to get right to the point aren't you. More interested in the destination than the journey."
"No." Willow replied weakly. She didn't like where this was going. Doc's observations were hitting a little too close to home. "Its just today hasn't really been the best day of my life and being locked in a cell and slammed into a wall tends to make me a little cranky."
"Please don't apologize. I think the trait is admirable. Rules and regulations can get in the way of achieving the results we want. You shouldn't be afraid to step out of the boundaries they create when it's necessary."
"That's not right." Said Willow. "I used to think it was but I was wrong. Rules are there for a reason and you should never ignore them."
"Never?" questioned Doc. "Even if it means achieving something good?"
Willow wasn't sure what kind of head game Doc was playing. She paused trying to word her response very carefully. What should she say? 'What would Tara say' she thought. "Maybe, but only if you'd tried everything you could without having to break the rules, and your reasons weren't selfish. And," she quickly added, "only if you were willing to accept the consequences of your actions and those consequences didn't hurt others." She paused. "And maybe not even then."
Doc continued to smile. "So young." He sighed.
At that moment Rack and Amy re-entered the room, carrying a number of clear vials. Within each vial swirled a red cloud. In addition to the vials, Rack held a large black velvet pouch. When they arrived at the altar Rack reached into the pouch and withdrew a ruby hanging from a silver chain and placed it in the center of the altar. He reached back into the pouch and brought out a larger piece of ruby. As he placed this piece down on the altar next to the other both gems glowed faintly and shook slightly. Startled by their movement Rack jerked his hand back and eyed the gem pieces warily. Then Amy and he busied themselves placing the vials to one side of the alter.
Willow blinked and then squinted at the altar. 'Hey, that's the necklace Buffy found.' thought Willow. "Nice necklace," piped Willow nonchalantly. "Although, I don't think it will really go with your eye color."
"I had Mr. Rack retrieve my amulet for me. I've been looking for it for a very long time. Someone once stole it from me."
"Well if I was you I'd keep a close eye on it with him around." Willow tilted her head in RackÕs direction. "He's not exactly Mr. Up Standing Citizen. If there's anything magikal about that amulet you can bet he'll steal it and use it against you."
Doc chuckled, a sound Willow found disturbing. "That's not very likely."
"Why? Do you have some kind of security system hooked up or something? Cause I don't see any cameras or anything. Unless you have laser sensors, which I wouldn't see. Not unless I had those really cool glasses they have in the movies. I've always wanted a..." Willow cut herself off abruptly, realizing she was babbling.
"Not exactly." Answered Doc. "It's cursed. No human can wear it without going crazy."
"Oh, well I guess that would work too."
Doc turned to leave, his smile still intact.
"Wait! You never answered my question. What am I doing here?"
Doc turned back to look at Willow. "Of course. Very sorry." He apologized. "It's really nothing. Should be very simple for a witch of your caliber. I simply want you to do a spell for me." He reached into the pocket of his black suit jacket and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. He held it out to Willow, slipping it through the bars. Willow made no move to take it.
"I don't do magic anymore." Replied Willow firmly.
"Oh. No. That will never do." Said Doc as he shook his head slowly. "It's just a little spell. None of that dark stuff, no."
"Then why don't you do it?"
"Oh I can't. I'm not very powerful anymore." He sadly answered. "You really should get out there and enjoy your youth you know. Old age, well it creeps up on you and before you know it, all those big plans you had, they just didn't get done."
"I won't do your spell for you. I'm done with magic, of any kind."
Doc stepped up closely to the cell, until his face was only inches from the bars. He rested the piece of paper on one of the cell's crossbars and looked down at Willow. "I really hope you change your mind." Willow watched in silent horror as Doc's eyes filled with blackness. "Things could get unpleasant otherwise."
TBC....
by Mini-ALF » Wed Feb 06, 2002 8:43 pm
Michelle
by tiger17 » Thu Feb 07, 2002 12:44 pm
by RomanceJunky » Thu Feb 07, 2002 4:01 pm
Thanks for the update! I'm really enjoying your story, and look forward to each new part!
RJ...More please!
------------------
"Next year...shits gonna go down...her relationship with Tara will continue---but the course of True Love is never easy."
Joss Whedon-"OUT" magazine, August 2001
by Scout » Thu Feb 07, 2002 5:34 pm
by canadian kitty » Fri Feb 08, 2002 5:15 pm
Mini-ALF, tiger17, and RomanceJunky: I'm so glad you're all still enjoying the story. This being my first fic i'm still all sweaty and figity worried that i haven't put the story together well enough to hold interest. So your continued interest is very heartening. Thank you.
Scout: welcome aboard. Please take not of the no smoking sign and store all small children in the compartment above your head. Feel free to get up and move around while the stories in progress. Enjoy.
Tonight's part is rather small compared to my other posts. Sorry but i'm in the grips of migraine monsters younger brother, the cold monster and all the meds are making me sleepy. since i like to read through each part and make final tweaks were needed before i post, i've split the next part into two sections.
Title: Reunited
Rating: PG
Couples: W/T
Spoilers: Oh yeah, right up to Gone. If you're trying to stay clean then flee! Flee now!
Notes: Willow and Tara are the main focus of this story, however I tried to write it as I thought it might play out on the show (Pffff! Listen to me. As if this piece of crud will ever even remotely resemble the brilliant plot twists Josh has planned for us this season) so all main characters have their scenes. Think of it as a W/T centric episode with all those annoying filler scenes revolving around the other, less important characters, as sandwich breaks.
Archiving: Umm, ok. But asked first.
Feedback: Sure. Take special care to point out all the plot holes and dumbass mistakes. Although I think Rane has saved me from most of the impending embarrassment.
Copyright: In the fantasy world in which I spend most of my time BTVS, all its characters, spin-offs, comic books, animated series, merchandise, etc, are mine all mine. But in the real world, a place I rarely visit, they belong to some guy called Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Summary: I am way too long-winded to sum up this story in a few lines.
Thanks: I humbly bow to my magnificent beta reader Rane, without whom this story would certainly never have been written, let alone posted. Oh great Weevil Faerie Otter Princess I know you and Ruth share a miraculous love but, marry me?
Note: This is my twisted interpretation to those comments Doc made to Spike when he and Dawn visited Doc for the spell in Forever.
Post 10
"So what? You think Doc is gonna go out and buy some fresh vegetables before he performs his ritual?" Asked Buffy sarcastically as the group approached Sunnydale's open-air market. The locals knew it as the Corner Market, or the Corner Mart, because it occupied a green field at the corner of two of Sunnydale's main streets.
"No" Spike sneered as they made their way between two empty stalls into the main thoroughfare. It was night and the market was closed but they could see several figures still moving about the area. One brushed by the gang, accidentally bumping Xander. "Hey!" Xander shouted.
The figure lifted its head to reveal a blue-faced demon. "I'm terribly sorry. Please accept my sincerest apologies." It said in a proper English accent that would have made Giles envious.
"Ummm, that's ok. No problem." Stuttered out a stunned Xander. The demon nodded politely and then walked away. Xander looked at the rest of the gang. "That was a demon. A really nice, polite demon, but a demon."
"Yeah, they're all demons." Spike swept his arm around the market. "At night this is kind of a hang out for the more 'mild mannered' demon species."
"Well then what exactly are we doing here." Demanded Buffy. "I could be at Willie's right now beating him to a pulp for information."
Spike sighed and rolled his eyes. "I think there's someone here that will know where we can find Doc."
"Well what does he look like?" Asked Tara.
"Me"
"What?" Buffy was sure she had heard him wrong.
"Great just what the world needs, a Spike look alike." Quipped Xander.
Spike stopped and turned to sneer at Xander then waved his arms about in exasperation. "Look I've never even met the bloke before but I heard about a guy that hangs out here playing dominoes who looks like me. I think maybe he might have some information all right!?"
"Dominoes?" inquired Anya innocently.
Spike huffed and started walking again while Tara patted Anya's arm. "I'll explain later."
As they approached the center of the market they could see a large gathering of demons hovering around a circular wooden table. Buffy had once remarked at a meeting how each week seemed to bring a new type of demon to the Hellmouth. Sure, there was always the standard and ever abundant vampire, but variety was the spice of life and as a game the gang had begun to tally up the demons. Willow had been estatic, producing complicated charts, using her ever reliable system of different colored pens to separate those who produced viscous fluids from those who did not; or those with red versus green skin (green leading by a huge margin). The gang was ever on the look out for a new trait or characteristic that would require Willow to add another column to her spreadsheet.
As they drew closer to the table it became clear that the demon horde did indeed contain several unique characteristic. Willow would be busy adding columns when this was over. Or at least she would have been had anyone actually took notice of any of the demons around the table. But no one was. Instead all eyes were locked on one of two sitting figures. He was dressed in a red shirt and black pants. Over his clothes he wore a black leather duster. A cigarette hung from his lips and his hair was slicked back smoothly against his head. A huge pile of dominoes sat in front of him on the table.
Buffy did a double take. It could have been Spike sitting there. Except that the color of his hair was slightly off, orangier. That, and he had two tiny horns, no bigger than thumbnails, protruding from his head.
As they approached, the demons scattered, sensing trouble. But the Spike look-alike was to absorbed in his game of dominoes to notice. Only when his playmate scampered away did he look up to see the Scoobies and Spike standing over him.
With a grin so wide it threatened to rip his face he stood up quickly and grabbed Spike's hand, shaking it vigorously. "This is amazing, I, I can't believe it." He said excitedly in a squeaky voice reminiscent of a junior high nerd. "William the Bloody at my domino table. It's like a dream." While he spoke he continued to shake the hand of a very dumbfounded Spike. Regaining some of his senses Spike detangled his hand from the demons and asked in a stunned voice. "Who the hell are you?"
"Oh, sorry, I'm just so excited. It's not every day you get to meet your hero. I'm your number one fan. As you can probably tell." He said as he gestured at his clothes. "Except for the hair," his face fell, "they don't make your particular shade anymore."
Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies were fighting smiles but Spike was losing his patience. "What is you bleedin name!" he howled.
"Oh, Right." The demon puffed his chest up proudly. "The name's Nail."
"Nail!" Spike shouted incredulously. "You can't be serious!"
Buffy and Anya choked back laughter; even Tara had to hide a smile behind her hand. Xander could no longer withhold a remark. "Awww, isn't that cute. Spike and his little admiring nail."
"You don't think it's cool?" Nail said downcast, looking at Spike like a beaten puppy. "Cause I could change it."
Spike's eyes were about to pop out of his head. "You'll change more than your-"
"Ok Spike. Calm down." Buffy pushed passed Spike to stand between him and Nail. 'Man am I going to get some mileage out of this later,' she thought happily. "We're looking for a demon called Docrasna. He's an old friend of Spike's but they've lost touch." She lied. "We were told you might know where to find him."
"You mean Doc?" Nail asked. "Well I don't really know him, he's a bit upper level for me. And kind of scary. It's the beady eyes. But he likes dominoes so we've talked once or twice."
"So you know where we can find him?" encouraged Buffy.
"Last I heard he was living out on the south edge of town in that big stone mansion by Restwell cemetery."
Buffy, having obtained all the information she needed, whirled towards the group. "Let's go get Willow."
"It was nice to meet you." Shouted Nail after the quickly retreating group. "Maybe we could hang out some time?"
TBC....
by RomanceJunky » Fri Feb 08, 2002 6:20 pm
Oh, that's funny as hell! What a stud-muffin!
RJ...Thanks for the update! BTW, I don't want you to get all fidgity...but a bit sweaty is, well...kinda intrigueing...
------------------
"Next year...shits gonna go down...her relationship with Tara will continue---but the course of True Love is never easy."
Joss Whedon-"OUT" magazine, August 2001
by Scout » Sat Feb 09, 2002 6:08 am
by canadian kitty » Sat Feb 09, 2002 8:25 am
quote:
Originally posted by RomanceJunky:
BTW, I don't want you to get all fidgity...but a bit sweaty is, well...kinda intrigueing...
Even as I was writing that sentence I just knew one of you smutty kittens would be "intrigued". shame on you RJ.lol.
quote:by RomanceJunky » Sat Feb 09, 2002 5:16 pm
Glad I could live 'DOWN' to your expectations, CK!
RJ...I just couldn't bare the thought of your disappointment if nobody took that opening!!!
by canadian kitty » Sat Feb 09, 2002 6:24 pm
quote:
Originally posted by RomanceJunky:
I just couldn't bare the thought of your disappointment if nobody took that opening!!!
RJ, We both know that the 'thoughts' you were having had nothing to do with my disappointment.
For those of you who want to know, I should have an update ready to post tomorrow night.
quote:by Garner » Mon Feb 11, 2002 2:52 pm
I fully support splitting and tweaking! You have been much more consistent and things read better now. Just want you to know that the extra effort does help.
< But I don't smell disgusting
garbagey smell' Willow thought 'Actually it smells kinda nice in here. Like some kind of incense,> One of the things I was always taught was to try and avoid repetitive word usage, in this case too many “smells.” You might replace the second with stuff or odor or something like that.
I especially like that you kept Doc polite and curteous throughout, that is a bit unusual for Buffy villains, though Glory had her moments.
Another good part, it should be neat to see the outcome that is coming. Still enjoying this immensely,
Garner
Return to Novogate Backup Pens
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests