Kudos!!!
DISCLAIMER:
Disclaimers: I don't own Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Tara, Anya, Xander, Giles, or any of the other familiar characters seen on Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. Joss Whedon owns all of the characters of the show, because the show is his beauty and up until the end of this season, I loved it. I just hated the ending. Joss Whedon also owns the characters that are seen regularly on his other series, Angel. Those characters are Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Lilah, Gunn, Fred, and Lorne.
Spoilers: Beyond the Horizon has spoilers all the way up to the season finale of Season Six, then it goes completely in a different direction. Read the first installment of my Soulmate series. The first installment was Returning. Beyond the Horizon is the second installment. And on the series Angel, the spoilers are up to the season finale of Season Three.
Continuity Note: From reading the ending of Returning, it's obvious there are a lot of unexplained mysteries. From Sonya Baxter's history to Tara's new secret, there are mysteries. They will continue into Beyond the Horizon. I hope you enjoy it. And, as always, comments and criticisms are welcome. Here's my addy again: letsrocket_1998@yahoo.com.
Author's Note: First of all, I would like to thank everyone who's sent the positive feedback on Returning. I enjoyed reading it as much as writing the fic. Beyond the Horizon will continue the storyline started in Returning. One Big Bad's been dealt with by the Scoobies, but when one is gone, more has to follow. I would like your opinion. From reading Part 3 of Returning, who do you think the major Big Bad for Beyond the Horizon should be. Should it be Sonya Baxter again? Or should it be the Phalanx Clan members? Possible the dark force that gave the Phalanx Clan members there power? Or should Deacon make a surprise return? And finally, the last choice I'm considering while I formulate this story is the demon enemy of Angel's called Saijhan? If you've been following Angel then you know who I'm referring to. Let me know you're choice either at letsrocket_1998@yahoo.com or by going to The Kitten, The Witches and the Bad Wardrobe and commenting on the thread entitled My Fic Entitled Returning under the Different Colored Pens thread.
START OF UPDATE
Chapter One
Two women sat at a table outside a busy restaurant. They were almost the same height and one was slightly older than the other. The woman on the far left had long sandy blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail at the base of her neck. She wore a dark brown shirt with small flowers embroidered all over it. Over her shoulders, she wore a light brown jacket that covered her from the shoulders down to her legs. The woman smiled as she watched the woman across from her begin drinking a rather large chocolate milkshake.
The other woman, the younger one had long dark hair that hung freely about her head and shoulders. She wore a dark blue shirt with a blue sweater jacket over her shoulders. She wore a pair of jeans over her legs. The older woman wore a pair of pants, rather than jeans. The dark haired woman took a long gulp of her shake as she noticed her associate shaking her head. "What?" the dark haired woman asked, lips turning upwards in a smile.
The blonde haired woman lifted a hand to indicate the shake. "Once again....that's a god awful lot of shake." Tara MaClay shook her head, amazed at the dark haired woman's tenacity for the shake.
Dawn Summers laughed, missing the time she used to spend with the blonde immensely. "Hey! I love Chocolate. So sue me."
Tara leaned back in her chair and listened as Dawn began a ramble about the different things she and her friend Janice had been doing lately. It was nice, Tara reflected wryly, just hanging out with the younger Summers sister. Ever since the shooting at the Summers House, Tara missed just spending time with Dawn. She had once told her lover that she loved Dawn like the sister she never had. And that was very true, even after everything that's happened.
As she continued to hear Dawn's voice go on about her and her friend Janice, Tara couldn't help but reflect how nice life had been going for her and her girlfriend, Willow Rosenberg. It had been less than three weeks since she was taken captive by the vampire known as Deacon and the mysterious sorceress Sonya Baxter. So much had happened since then. Tara and Willow were closer than the blonde could remember them ever being. They'd even started doing something they hadn't done in so long. At night, they'd go up to the roof of the Summers House and look at the stars. Look and argue about them. It was a facet of their relationship that both women were missing very much and they were finally beginning to get back to that.
There were still bandages over Tara's wrists, the result of the Sacrifice machine taking her blood to ignite the powers of the Blood God for Deacon. The lacerations were, for the most part, healed. She would have two scars over the skin of her wrists and when Giles first told her that, she had frowned. Some small part of her had hoped she would get away without any scars, but no such luck. She sighed and took a sip of her soda.
Tara looked over at Dawn as the youngster continued her rambling about different things. Tara knew she should listen to everything the girl said, but Tara was just too overjoyed at being back to do so. Not only was she glad to be returning to her familiar life with Willow, but she was glad to be back in life to enjoy many things. Spending time with Dawn was one of the bigger ones. She knew how distraught Dawn had been when she'd found her body in that room. Tara could feel the despair, the pure emotion from where she was in limbo. It had broke her soul in two when she felt the emotion coming off Dawn in waves. It was just now starting to get better for Dawn.
"Tara?" Dawn's voice broke the blonde's thoughts.
Tara shook her head. "Yeah Dawnie?"
Dawn tilted her head. "Where did you just go? I've been saying your name for like minutes."
Tara smiled. "Sorry. I was just thinking about things."
"What things?" Dawn asked.
Tara shrugged. "You know...things. Being back, how things are with you."
"Willow." Dawn said plaintively with a smile.
"Well, yeah...duh." Tara chuckled at Dawn.
Dawn smiled at the blonde Wiccan. Dawn was overjoyed at having her back. When she'd found Tara's body at the Summers House, it had literally torn Dawn into a million pieces. Tara had always been there when she needed someone to talk to, to hang out with, whatever she needed, Tara always took time out of her life to be there. Even when Tara was extremely busy, she put her things aside and spent time with Dawn. No one else had done that much. Not Xander, not Buffy, not Giles, no one. In some ways, Dawn preferred Tara as her sister than Buffy but Dawn knew that wasn't fair to Buffy. The Slayer had to slay, it was part of her destiny. But still, finding Tara's body had been like losing her mother all over again.
When they told Dawn that Tara had been brought back, a large part of Dawn couldn't believe it, wouldn't believe it. She'd been there in that room with Tara's lifeless body for hours, crying over the loss and just huddling there, her gaze fixed on Tara's body, not moving. It hadn't seemed real to Dawn that Tara was dead until she sat in the living room and watched the Coroner take Tara's body out in the black body bag. Then, hearing that Tara was somehow alive, it just didn't seem possible to Dawn. Then, the younger Summers had seen Tara alive and well and that had been an emotional moment in her life. She had Tara back and she wasn't ready to let go. Not ever again.
"So....you ready to go see that movie Dawnie?" Tara asked as she began to fish in her bag for her cash.
Dawn nodded, not wanting to dwell on the horrible thoughts any longer. She stood up and gathered her things while Tara paid the cashier for their lunch. When Tara began heading back her way, Dawn noticed something that normally, she would have missed. Halfway back to her, Tara's eyes fluttered closed for an instant and Dawn say Tara wince before Tara finished walking back over. But her concern was already in her face and Dawn grasped Tara's elbow. "Are you alright, Tara?" she asked.
Tara put her arm around the younger girl's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "Of course I am, Dawnie." Tara said, hoping to convince her of that fact. Tara had thought she'd been very careful about hiding the sudden winces, or the muscle movements. The pains were hitting her more frequently now and Tara was beginning to realize she couldn't hide it from everyone much longer. Just until I see Dr. Shaw today. she thought to herself. "Dawnie, why don't wait by the sidewalk for me, I've got to use the restroom." Tara said.
Dawn still looked concerned and now, hesitant, but she nodded as she grabbed her satchel and headed to the sidewalk, where she and Tara would head over to the movie theater. Tara waited until Dawn had rounded the corner of the restaurant before she moved her hand out and grabbed the back of a chair as the pains hit her chest again. She had trouble catching her breath for a moment before she began taking deep breaths to steady her heartrate. Her eyes were closed, so she didn't see the waiter approach.
"Are you alright, miss?" the waiter asked politely.
Tara jumped, startled at the sudden appearance. She nodded after a moment. "Yes. I'm fine." Tara replied as she headed to the rest room. Entering it, she walked over to the sink and splashed some cold water over her face, looking at the face reflected back at her through the mirror. After a moment, she opened her bag she carried and brought out two small bottles of pills. Popping the caps off the bottles, she took out two pills from each bottle and tossed them into her mouth. She took a few sips of water to wash the pills down. She shook her head as she put the bottles back into her bag. "You can't keep this up much longer, Tara." she told her reflection. The bottles of pills she had been forced to buy to keep the chest pains from being so painful were expensive and the last batch of pills she had to buy took up most of her money. Plus, she was having trouble keeping Willow from finding out. The redhead had almost found one of the prescription receipts recently and Tara had to make up something to cover for it. Tara didn't like to lie, especially to Willow, but she wasn't ready to tell her loved ones what was wrong with her. Not yet anyways.
Tara splashed one last dose of water over her face and she left the bath room and rejoined Dawn, who was waiting for her at the sidewalk outside the restaurant. Together, the two headed towards the movie theater.
---**---
Buffy sighed heavily. "Would you please relax, Willow!"
Willow Rosenberg stopped and glared at her friend. The two were outside of Timothy's Jewelers, one of the more expensive and more popular jewelry shops in Sunnydale. Willow had practically begged her best friend to come with her today and now that they were there, Willow's nerves were taking control of her. She was jumpy and jittery and she was beginning to get too nervous to go inside. "I'm trying to relax, Buffy. It's just...this is like....what I've been wanting to do for a while and I'm...I'm scared, okay!" Willow looked flustered.
Buffy smiled at her friend. The Slayer was dressed in a sleeveless white shirt with a panther design on the front. She wore a pair of red pants over her legs and she left her shirt untucked. She had her short hair combed back, but not held by into a ponytail. She crossed her arms over her chest and smirked at her friend. "Willow, you came to me two weeks ago about this. You were sure of yourself then, what's changed?" she asked, knowing why Willow was flustered.
Willow looked at the floor. "Buffy, there's a lot of things that could go wrong. I mean, I could mess up and get a bad looking ring...or I could get one that's not the right size...the coloring could be off...Buffy, there's just so many things that could go wrong!" the redhead began backing away. She was wearing her Skinny Skulls long sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Buffy reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Oh no you don't!" Buffy said, holding her still. "Willow, when you asked me to come with you today, you gave me this big speech. Are you standing here and telling me that speech didn't mean anything?"
Willow's eyes flashed. "Of course not! It's just that I don't know if she'll like the ring. Or if she'll even say yes."
Buffy sighed. She loved Willow, but the redhead could be so frustrating sometimes. "Willow, believe me when I tell you this. Tara loves you. She wants to spend her life with you. She waited for you to come after her in that limbo realm. So, don't doubt this. Now c'mon, let's go take a good look at this place."
Buffy and Willow entered Timothy's and each began looking around the spacey jewelry store. Buffy's eyes roamed over the earrings and the different necklaces while Willow merely looked at all the different rings that were on display. The clerk behind the counter approached the redhead. "May we help you, miss?" she asked in an Irish accent. Willow smiled at the woman as she glanced at the rings.
"Yes, I'm looking for a ring." Willow said, her gaze locked on the rings.
The woman behind the counter had dark brown hair, which was long and wavy, and she wore a red business suit. Her hazel eyes gleamed at a proposed sale. "Any ring in particular you looking for, ma'am?" the woman asked.
Buffy walked over to where Willow was standing. She eyed the woman behind the counter. Willow reached into her pants pocket and produced a small folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, she handed it to the woman. "Do you think you can have a ring like that done?" she asked as the woman glanced at the small picture depicted on the paper.
The woman studied the picture. The picture had two dolphins on top of the ring, their bodies wrapped around the gem that Willow would pick out. After a few moments, the woman looked back at Willow. "Our jeweler can do this, but it'll take a couple days for him to finish it." the woman said. "Do you want to have it made?"
Willow nodded. "Yes, I would."
The woman motioned Willow and Buffy over to a small desk to the side of the store. Willow sat down across from the woman. The woman had a small clipboard with an order form. "Alright ma'am, I'll need your name." she began.
"Willow Rosenberg." the redhead said. Buffy was standing behind her.
The woman wrote the name down. "And the person you're buying this ring for?"
Willow smiled. "Tara MaClay."
The woman wrote the name down. She looked up. "And, what is the relationship?" she scribbled something down.
"Tara's my girlfriend." Willow said with pride, very glad she still could say that, even after everything. Buffy squeezed the redhead's shoulder.
The woman started to write that down, then stopped halfway through as the meaning of the words hit her. She looked up at Willow. "Excuse me?" she said, backing her chair up.
Buffy's hackles rose and she was prepared to step in, but Willow stopped her. "You heard what I said, ma'am. Tara MaClay is my girlfriend. If you can't handle that, then get someone who can."
Buffy smiled at Willow's words and watched the woman across from her. Her face had an expression of disgust on her face and she was about to rise and walk away when a voice from the counter stopped her. "Clarice." the male voice said.
Clarice, the clerk, looked at the counter and swallowed. A man of medium height stood there. He wore a crisp black business suit. The man walked over to Clarice and spoke in a clear and crisp voice. "Clarice, go mend the counter." he ordered.
Clarice glared at Willow as she left to follow her boss's orders. The man sat down where Clarice had been. "I'm sorry about her behavior, Miss....Rosenberg." he looked at the paper.
Willow smiled at him. "It's alright. I'm used to encountering people who....who don't agree with parts of my life." Willow was grateful for Buffy's hand on her shoulder.
The man smiled back. "I understand. Clarice has had complaints made about her views many times. Anyways, let's continue with your order." the man smiled as he began asking her more questions about her order.
---**---
A woman wearing a pair of tight black pants and a low neck white shirt walked down an empty alley. She had dark auburn colored hair that went just past her shoulders. She had a confident walk as she walked down the alley. Halfway down the alley, she stopped and glanced down both ways of the alley to ensure she wasn't being watched or followed. Then, she faced the wall of one of the buildings and placed her palm flat against the brick wall. "Delnata." she said in a clear voice. A magical gateway opened up in front of her and the woman entered the gateway. It closed directly behind her.
At the other end of the gateway, the woman found herself in a dark place with the only light being that filled by numerous torches. There were stone pillars around the entire area and a small table sat at the center of the place. The woman looked around before walking to the center of the room. She sat down at the chair that was next to the table and merely waited. As was her instructions, she sat and waited for him to come.
Her wait was only for a few moments as a being shimmered in behind her. She'd felt his presence before, so she wasn't surprised at all when he walked over and in front of him. She looked at him, wanting to know why he summoned her here. The being in front of her wore dark robes all over his body. The only things not covered were his hands and his face.
He had gray rough looking skin on his hands and over his face. He had dark eyes, as well as dark hair that covered most of his head. A long deep scar ran across his face and he merely looked at the woman sitting down before he lashed out with his right leg and kicked the chair the woman was sitting in upwards, knocking her on her back and the chair down.
"Hey!" the woman yelped.
"Please shut up." the figure in the robes said. "Just because I've given you entrance to my home doesn't mean you get to be comfortable."
The woman got to her feet and began dusting herself off, not wanting to have dirt on her clothes. She glared at the being in front of her. "You're the one who searched me out, weirdo. I didn't go looking for you. Now, you wanted to meet. What do you want?" she continued glaring.
The robed figure walked around the darkened chamber. "My recent plans haven't worked out the way I'd hoped. The blasted prophecy's still out there and it could still come true. I need power and lots of it if I'm to be ready when the final days come."
"So," the woman shrugged, not caring one way or the other, "what's it to me?"
The robed figure walked up to her and, without warning, he struck her across the face with his fist, sending her flying backwards. She crashed onto the floor with a loud bang. "First of all, little missy, you need to learn some manners. You're in my home, so behave."
Sitting up, the woman touched her now bleeding lip. She snarled as she rose. "Beklidor tioma!" she chanted, sending a powerful rush of energy straight at the being.
He merely raised his hand and the powerful energy dissolved instantly. "Witch, what did I tell you about manners! Besides, dark magic doesn't work on me." he paused. "You want to know what I want, fine. I felt a great presence of power surge through realities recently. I've tracked it to this wretched little town called Sunnydale. That's why I tracked you down. You know the ins and outs of this place. You're going to help me."
She watched him. "Help you what?"
"This presence...it's a powerful Witch of some kind. Only, she's stronger than any witch I've ever sensed. She has......massive power and I doubt even she knows about it yet. You help me find her and lure her into a trap and I'll.....give you whatever you want." the being promised her.
The woman wiped a drop of blood from her lips. Then, a cruel smile crossed her lips. "Alright, you've got a deal. Do you have a name for this powerful witchy gal you're searching for?" she asked.
"No. I've only got a face and I've never seen her before." he said.
"Well....show me. I might have seen her around before." the woman said.
The demon looking being raised his hand and an image floated into the air. In the image was the face of the woman that the being wanted. The woman smiled, recognizing the face and instantly knowing she'd soon be able to get a measure of revenge against an old friend. Well, the woman thought, not really a friend.
"I know her. And I know where you can find her too." the woman said.
"Good." the being said. "Now, what is it you're going to want in return?"
The woman, who during high school performed a spell that turned her into a rat, smirked at him. "I want enough dark magic power to destroy the Slayer and all her friends and family." Amy said with a cruel and sinister laugh.
"You want to destroy the Slayer. Well, that is going to make things interesting." the demon looking being said. He chuckled to himself. Things were going his way and, if things continued going the way they were, he'd have his power soon enough and the Witch would be nothing more than a vegetable.
---**---
Tara sat on one of the orange plastic chairs in the waiting room. She and Dawn had gone to the theater and watched a comedy before they headed back to the house. She had told Dawn that she had something to take care and she had quickly headed off here, to her doctor's medical clinic. During her last visit with Dr. Shaw, she'd been warned by the doctor that she would have to consider letting her friends know about what was happening to her. And so far, Tara hadn't done that. She didn't want her friends, or Willow, to worry about her.
The receptionist walked out behind the glass. "Tara? Dr. Shaw will see you now."
Tara rose and followed the attractive brunette towards Dr. Shaw's office. She entered and took a seat across from the desk. After a few nervous moments, Helen Shaw entered the office and sat behind her desk. She had Tara's fully detailed file in her hand and she flipped it open as she began looking through it. Helen Shaw was a little taller than Tara and she had short sun gold hair that she held in a clip at the base of her neck. She was a caucasion, but she had some Indian in her. She had deep green eyes and she wore a light yellow blouse tucked into a pair of black pants. Her white doctor's coat was on over her clothes, however.
She looked up at her patient. "How are you feeling Tara?"
Tara shrugged. "About as good as all the other days, I guess."
Dr. Shaw nodded. "Tara, has the medicine I prescribed helped you at all?"
Tara took a deep breath. "The pills don't have much effect, just makes me sleepy. The needle medicine helps lessen the pain."
Dr. Shaw made a note on her pad. "And have you told the people you love about this yet?"
Tara's lips twitched. That was all the answer the doctor needed.
Dr. Shaw sighed. "Tara, you can't keep this a secret any longer. I ran a series of blood tests on the last blood sample we took from you. Tara, you're not receiving enough blood to your heart. That's why you're having so much trouble breathing normally. And the last x-rays we did have confirmed my concerns. Tara, these mysterious chest pains that keep hitting you are coming more frequently now. One of these times, it's going to hit you while you're with your partner...or while you're in public."
Tara nodded, she knew the doctor was right. "I know, Dr. Shaw. But, I just don't know how to tell them about this. I mean, I still don't even know where these pains are coming from."
Dr. Shaw looked at her. She knew how scared Tara was since she first started getting the chest pains. And the worst part of it was that Dr. Shaw couldn't figure out what was causing the chest pains either. Dr. Shaw couldn't figure out if there was even something she could do to help her. The only thing she'd been able to do for Tara was give her the pills that were designed to reduce massive pains and she'd hoped they'd be enough. The injection medicine, Dr. Shaw hoped, was to lessen the pain of the chest pains. Until recently, they had been working fine. But, during the past few months, the pains had been hitting Tara more frequently and they seemed to be getting worse. And the doctor didn't know what to do.
Dr. Shaw went through a few other things with Tara before the appointment was called to an end. "Alright Tara, I'll give you the prescriptions for the pills and I'll have the injection medicine put together before you leave. The only advice I can give is to keep taking the medicine. And Tara," Dr. Shaw's eyes drilled into the blonde's, "you need to tell your family about this. Even if it's just your partner, Miss Rosenberg. Someone has to know what's happening here."
Tara nodded, knowing what Dr. Shaw said couldn't be avoided any longer. She had to tell Willow and she would do it, tonight. She just hoped and prayed that Willow would forgive her for not telling her sooner. Tara felt scared at the possibility of having to fight through so much to be with Willow only to be separated by these chest pains. If these chest pains were going to take Tara from Willow, the blonde was convinced to put up as much of a fight as she could.
END OF UPDATE
More updates to come in the approaching days Kittens!!!
Edited by: xita
at: 9/8/04 9:43 pm
Great start to another story....But you can't leave us hanging 
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at: 5/30/02 9:11:42 pm
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I can't even watch the BS scenes without cringing and