Grimmy: Well, the Lord would have got through the spell on the window if Willow hadn’t stopped him
Oh, getting in the house is going to prove very difficult…
I don’t think Marcus senses his end is near, he’s so arrogant he thinks everything is going his way.
Well, the Order Lord’s don’t have emotions, so they wouldn’t want revenge. However, since Willow’s beaten one of them they may well decide that she and Tara are a threat that needs to be dealt with…
That bit in the desert with Willow levitating the sand was my favourite bit too
Cindy Lou Who: Yep, Marcus really is a bastard. Initially I didn’t intend to make him so hateable but it just seemed to come naturally, to make him, like Warren, a character with no redeeming qualities at all.
Jessan15: Oh my God! Um, your fic Lost and Found was the first one I read on the kitten board, and the one that made me want to write fan fic, so praise from you is, um, so great
[mumbles embarrassedly]
Ahem, anyway…
I thought so little of the last season 6 episodes that I thought they deserved nothing less than being erased from the universe, but I didn’t like the fact that it would save Warren and Rack…
Quote:
Finale
Bring it on
Here it is…
Xita:Quote:
Loved the way Willow’s BRAIN was the hero.
In the last few seasons of BtVS the writers seem to have forgotten the fact that Willow is a genius, even though it was a major part of her character in the earlier ones. As for them not respecting her anymore, I think that’s a given
Mollyig: Glad you’re enjoying it, hope you enjoy the finale…
Unaware of what was going on downstairs, Willow and Tara hurried in to their room. “I’m soaked!” Willow complained, pulling wet material off her skin.
“I know sweetie” Tara said, going to the closet and taking out a towel. She tossed it to Willow, then took another and began drying her hair. She looked down and frowned. “I hope this top isn’t ruined, Dawn only gave me it this morning – well, yesterday.”
Willow rubbed the towel over her head, leaving her hair frizzy and sticking out at odd angles. “I’m sure it’ll be ok” she said. She shook her head, it was hard to believe that a few hours ago they had been celebrating Tara’s birthday, it felt like days ago. She crossed the room and embraced her lover, they both shivered slightly as wet clothes pressed against their skin.
“I think we’d better get out of these” Tara said, pulling away but still keeping her arms around Willow.
The redhead grinned, taking the bottom of Tara’s shirt and pulling her close. “I think you’re right.”
********************
Buffy staggered to her feet. “Dawn!” she cried as she saw her sister lying still on the ground. Hurrying over to her, she listened for breathing and checked for a pulse. She gave a sigh of relief when she felt both.
She looked round quickly when she heard footsteps, to see Xander running for the front door. Mere inches away from the house he slammed in to an invisible barrier, rebounded and fell to the ground. He got to his feet, one hand to his nose which was streaming with blood, and placed the other hand flat against the invisible wall. “Great” he said.
“See if it goes all the way round!” Buffy called to him, and he nodded, one hand still holding his nose and moved across the garden and round the corner, his hand sliding across the barrier.
Anya came and stood next to Buffy, looking down at Dawn. “Is she ok?” she asked.
“She’s alive” Buffy told her. “Can you get inside the house? Willow and Tara are in there.”
Anya nodded and vanished, only to reappear a second later. She frowned and dematerialised, but again she materialised in the same place. “Damn it” she muttered. “I can’t get through.”
“Buffy!” Mike called. He was kneeling beside Omi, one hand anxiously feeling for a pulse. The two teenagers had taken the brunt of Marcus’ energy bolt, and like Dawn she was still unconscious. “She isn’t breathing!”
********************
Tara broke the kiss and moved back so Willow could remove her top. As she did so she briefly opened her eyes – and saw Marcus watching them from the doorway. “Willow!” she yelped, jumping back and pulling her top back down.
Willow spun and saw the wizard who was casually leaning against the doorframe. “What the hell are you…” she started. She stood in front of Tara. “You can’t put things back, we banished your lord thing. Its too late” she told him.
“You defeated a Lord of Order?” Marcus asked. “Impressive.” His voice was relaxed, and he remained leaning, as if he didn’t really care what had happened to the lord. “Still, that’s why he gave me my orders.”
“What orders?” Willow asked. She reached for Tara’s hand, then slowly backed away.
“If he failed, I was to correct as many things as possible” Marcus told them. “By killing those people who should have died.”
In an instant a magical barrier raised up between Marcus and the women. “Just give it up” Willow hissed through her teeth. “You are not gonna hurt Tara, you can’t change things back. Its over.”
Slowly Marcus straightened up and sauntered over to them. He stood a few feet away, and began poking the barrier. “Calm down, I said those were my orders, I didn’t say I was going to carry them out.”
“You expect us to believe you?” Tara said. “You killed Saul, didn’t you.”
“That was a misunderstanding” he replied. He turned to face Willow. “Now, I have something I think you’ll want.”
Willow waited for him to continue, but the wizard remained silent. She was about to ask what when his eyes went black. Gasping, she jumped back. Marcus placed his hand flat against the barrier, and in a flash of light it was gone. A ball of black light formed around his hand, then surged in to Willow’s chest.
Willow screamed, her back arcing as the magic entered her. When she faced the wizard again, her eyes were black.
********************
“Stay with Dawn” Buffy ordered Anya. The demon nodded and Buffy ran over to join Mike.
“She got a pulse?” Buffy asked.
Mike shook his head. “You know CPR?” he asked, straightening Omi’s body and kneeling beside her. He placed his hands above her chest to begin compressions. Buffy nodded and checked the girl’s airway, then lowered her face to breathe in to Omi’s mouth.
“The barrier goes all the way round” Xander called as he appeared round the corner of the house. He sniffed and wiped away more blood from his top lip. “And as high as I can reach.” He took in the scene, then hurried over to join Anya. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“A very good question” Dawn muttered as her eyes fluttered open.
********************
“Now, isn’t that better?” Marcus asked.
Clutching her stomach, Willow dropped to her knees. “Oh god…” she whispered as she felt the dark energy racing through her. The feel of it revolted her, she knew that once it would have given her a high but now all it did was make her want to throw up.
“Willow!” Tara screamed. She thrust out her hand and a burst of light hit Marcus in the chest, knocking him over. Grabbing Willow’s arm, she pulled her lover to her feet and out of the room.
“I knew I should have killed her first” Marcus muttered as he levitated back up, then followed the fleeing women.
“Buffy! Dawn!” Tara yelled as she passed their doors. Not waiting for an answer, she pulled Willow down the stairs, flung open the door and ran straight in to the barrier. Staring through it she could see the others, grouped around Dawn and Omi who were lying on the ground.
Placing her hand against the barrier, she tried to open a door but it was too strong. “Willow, help me” she said. She turned to face Willow, her lover was leaning against the wall and looked dazed, her eyes still black.
“We can’t cast together, I’ll infect you” Willow said, her voice hopeless and lost.
Tara winced as she accepted the truth of her lover’s words. Looking behind her she saw Marcus floating down the stairs, she grabbed Willow’s arm and ran.
********************
Xander put away his cell phone. “Ambulance is on its way, I just hope they won’t want to go in the house.” He glanced nervously at the house and saw a flash of movement from the doorway. “Was that Tara?” he asked.
By the time Anya looked that way the door had closed again. “I don’t know, I didn’t see” she said. “Stay still!” she shouted as Dawn again tried to sit up.
“Guys, let me up, I’m fine” Dawn protested, though her wince of pain told that she was lying. “What’s going on?”
“Come on, get up” Buffy growled under her breath as she counted Mike’s heart compressions. She leaned over and breathed into Omi’s mouth again. An unpleasant memory surfaced; of performing CPR on her mother. There had been nothing she could do then, she was determined not to fail now.
Dawn pulled herself up and joined Xander and Anya in watching Mike and Buffy as they tried to revive Omi. Suddenly a thought struck her. “Anya, I wish that the barrier was down.”
“It doesn’t work like that” Anya said. “I can only grant wishes to those who have been wronged, who want vengeance.”
“Fine, Marcus hurt Omi, he wants to hurt Tara and Willow” the teenager replied. “I wish he would drop down dead.”
“That won’t work either” Anya said. “I wish it would. Damn vengeance rules! He hasn’t wronged you personally, at least not in the eyes of D’Hoffren and the Lower Beings.”
Xander was about to point out that Dawn had tried to kill Marcus, but decided this wasn’t the time. “Guys, it’ll be ok” he said, more to convince himself than the others. “Will and Tara can take care of themselves.” He turned and stared at the house and muttered under his breath “I hope.”
********************
Marcus closed the front door then turned towards the living room. Running a hand through his hair, he considered his next move. Willow’s reaction had surprised him, she wasn’t showing any sign of being high, she just seemed out of it. He had hoped that giving her a dose would have her begging him for more, but it seemed Rack had been wrong about her. Still, if he couldn’t make Willow join him, he would simply take her power instead.
Thanks to the Lord’s gullibility, he would emerge from this a hero with a guaranteed promotion, and with Willow’s magic he would soon rise even further.
He glanced at the open doorway to the living room again. The women would attack him as soon as he entered, but with his borrowed and stolen power there was nothing they could do to him. He couldn’t suck Willow’s magic out, that would mean getting near to her, and that would mean she was close to him. She could also take his power, and he’d seen enough during the balance point to know she could be a dangerous enemy.
He smiled grimly as he headed for the kitchen. Of course, with Willow’s essence he didn’t need to do the energy suck, he would simply absorb anything she threw at him. And the balance point had shown him something else, the one thing that would make Willow unleash all the magic she had against him.
Kill Tara.
********************
Tara dragged Willow into the living room, pushed the couch out across the room and ducked behind it. Whispering the spell, she raised a barrier over the door, though she knew it wouldn’t keep Marcus out for long. She turned to look at her lover who had begun to shiver. Her eyes were still jet black. “Oh god, Will…” she whispered.
Willow twitched. “Its not affecting me” she assured her girlfriend. “I’m not high.” She rubbed at her arms as if the magic was dirt that she could clean off. “I feel polluted, infected. Kinda sick.” She tried to smile, but the nausea and shaking turned it in to a grimace.
“It’ll wear off, You’ll be ok” Tara said, reaching out to stroke her cheek. She peered over the couch. “Where is he, why hasn’t he followed us?”
“That son of a bitch” Willow said, her voice almost a growl. “If he tries to lay a finger on you I swear I’ll rip him…” she stopped herself as Tara turned to stare at her, open-mouthed. “It is having an effect” she said worriedly. “Its making me angry.” In the depths of her black eyes, red flames began to burn. “Really angry.”
They both sensed rather than heard the movement as Marcus came through the wall behind them. Leaping to their feet, the women dived over the couch as the wizard fired two energy bolts at them. The magic hit the couch, blowing two holes right through it.
Rage overwhelming her, Willow stood up and pointed at Marcus, a nimbus of dark energy forming around her hand.
“Willow, no!” Tara cried.
Willow froze, staring at Marcus. He stood there unmoving, he didn’t even raise his hands to defend himself, she could kill him easily. Tara’s voice reminded her where that path lead. And there was something else that made her hesitate, the expression on Marcus’ face. He looked expectant, almost eager.
For a second, Willow’s eyes went back to their normal colour and the power around her hand faded. As she lowered her hand her eyes darkened again. She remained staring at Marcus, and the wizard smirked at her. She spun on her heel, helped Tara to her feet and led her out of the room.
“Willow, what’s going on?” Tara asked, looking behind her nervously as they hurried upstairs.
“He’s toying with us” Willow said, her voice low and angry. “He could have killed us, he doesn’t want us dead, not yet.” She turned to face her lover. “He wants me to turn.”
“Why would he want that?” Tara asked as they returned to their room. “If you… I mean, if the magic took control you’d… he’d be the first one you…”
Willow reached out and took Tara’s hand, letting the blonde know she understood how hard it was to think such things about her. “I don’t know, he must think he can convince me to join him” she suggested.
“Then we know he has one weakness, he’s an idiot” Tara said, smiling a little.
Willow smiled back at her, then turned as Marcus rose up through the floor. “You took your time” she said.
“No need to rush things” the wizard said casually. “How’re you feeling? There’s more where that came form if you want it” he offered.
“Did you really think that would work?” Tara asked, her tone mocking. “You thought that Willow would crack?” She smiled proudly at her lover, then glared angrily at Marcus. “She’s so much stronger than that. So much stronger than you.”
“Spare me” the wizard said, rolling his eyes. “I know you want it” he said to Willow. “C’mon, you know its what you need.”
“I do not need magic!” Willow said defiantly. “All I need” she continued, taking her girlfriend’s hand, “is Tara.”
Marcus vanished in a blaze of light, reappearing a second later behind Tara. He put one arm round her neck, pulling her back, the other hand holding a knife to her throat. “Then you’d better learn to cope without her.”
“NO!” Willow cried, magic swirling around her hands as she instinctively summoned her power to help Tara.
“Come on little girl, you think you can stop me?” Marcus taunted. His eyes darkened to jet-black. “In the other timeline you were unstoppable, in this one you’re nothing. Losing Tara was the best thing that ever happened to you.” Tara winced as the knife bit in to her skin.
“Let her go” Willow commanded, her voice deadly.
“Make me” the wizard said mockingly.
The red flames burned again in Willow’s eyes. Her hair darkened to black and the colour drained from her face as she stopped fighting the dark magic and let it out. She raised her hands, dark energy burning around her clenched fists.
“Willow…” Tara whispered
********************
Dawn had finally persuaded the others to let her get up; for one thing lying down meant the rain went straight in her face. Now she, Xander and Anya stood watching as Mike and Buffy desperately tried to revive Omi.
“But I was in front of her” Dawn protested. “More of the energy hit me, how come I’m ok and she’s the one not breathing?”
“Its just luck Dawn” Xander said miserably. “Sometimes bad things just happen.”
Buffy pulled away quickly as Omi jerked.
“And sometimes they don’t” Dawn said happily. “Omi! Is she ok?”
Buffy and Mike rolled Omi on to her side as she began to choke, then managed to get her breathing under control. “I think so” Buffy called as they helped the teen sit up.
“Ambulance is on its way” Xander told them, kneeling down beside Buffy.
“Good” the Slayer replied, nodding. She turned to look at the house. “No luck getting in?” Xander shook his head. Buffy sighed. “Then its all up to Will and Tara.”
********************
Marcus stepped back, pulling Tara with him. Even though he knew Willow couldn’t hurt him, that her magic would make him stronger, she was still a terrifying sight.
Willow stared at the man threatening her lover. She would do anything to keep Tara safe, and she knew what she had to do. She released the dark magic inside her, summoning it all up to the surface. A black mist began to form around Willow. It spread out, thinning at the edge of the cloud but still thick enough at the centre to obscure her.
“What the hell..?” Marcus muttered to himself. He’d never heard of a spell like this, had no idea what Willow hoped to achieve.
The cloud began to fade as the mist drifted away from Willow. He could see that it was literally coming out of her skin. As the cloud dissipated completely Willow’s hair and eyes faded back to their normal colour.
“Impossible…” Marcus whispered as Willow forced the last of the dark magic out of her body. He stared in amazement until Tara’s elbow rammed in to his stomach. He doubled up, releasing her and she ran to Willow’s side.
“You pushed it out!” Tara exclaimed. “All gone?” she asked her lover, running her hand through the red-again hair.
“All gone” Willow confirmed with a grin. Joining hands, they turned to face the winded man who was struggling to straighten up. A barrier formed around him.
Pulling himself up, Marcus formed a ball of energy in his hand and slammed it against the barrier. It had no effect, angrily he tried again. The magical wall remained in place. He placed his hands against the barrier and blasted it, but still it held strong. “How?” he asked, his voice almost a whine.
“What should we do with him?” Willow asked.
“Bind his power, then hand him over to the police” Tara said. “Even if they can’t prove he murdered Saul there’s his attack on us.” She winced as her free hand rubbed the small cut on her neck.
Bind my power! Marcus felt the panic rising. He couldn’t understand why the barrier held, the power the Lord had given him and the power he took from Rack should have been more than enough. He looked at the two women holding hands, even casting together they shouldn’t be this powerful. Placing his hands back on the barrier he attacked it with everything he had. The wall around the house collapsed as he withdrew the power maintaining it.
The lovers tightened their grip on each other’s hands. The magic coursed through them, mixing together through the bond they shared. The barrier held.
Screaming with hate, Marcus summoned all the power within him and hurled it at the barrier. He could feel everything being used, his stolen magic, his own power, his very life force, it was just a question of which lasted longer, the barrier or him. Screaming again, he saw a tiny breech open up and, seizing his chance, he teleported.
********************
Willow stood looking at the early morning sky. Grey light filtered through the heavy cloud cover, though it had stopped raining as the chaotic magic finally exhausted its energy. She turned as she heard the hospital’s double doors slide open. “Hey” she said, smiling. “How’s Omi doing?”
“Pretty good” Tara said, putting her arms round Willow and her chin on her shoulder. “Some burns from the energy bolt, but nothing permanent from the whole ‘near death’ thing. Dawn’s got a few burns too, we blamed the whole thing on a near miss lightning strike.” Willow nodded, distracted.
Tara could easily guess what was bothering her lover. “You shouldn’t blame yourself, you know.”
“I don’t” Willow said. “Well, a little. I know we did everything we could, and he had all that stolen power, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s still out there.”
“Nadia and the others found the bodies of the scholars” Tara told her. “They’re gonna tell the police, so at least they’ll be looking for Marcus too. And those other warriors believed us about him, so he’s finished with the Order. Besides, you felt what I did, he used everything to escape, every last bit of magic he had.”
“Yeah, he’ll have some major withdrawal” Willow agreed. “The amount of magic he had, maybe even some physical damage. I mean, I… the other me, ended up brain dead from dark magic overload.”
Tara held out a hand. “Come back inside?” Willow took her hand, smiled and allowed herself to be led back in to the hospital.
“Congratulations Tara!” Anya called out as they entered the waiting area. “You’re truly a part of the scooby birthday tradition.”
“Oh, I think it had its good parts” Tara said, looking at Willow as they sat.
“Yeah Will, you were pretty amazing” Buffy agreed.
Willow blushed. “It wasn’t just me, Tara and I are always stronger when we cast together.”
“You dealt with that chaos magic on your own” Tara pointed out. “And I think Buffy was talking about the dark magic.”
The Slayer nodded. “Yeah, Marcus zapped you full of the thing you were most scared of, and you just pushed it out.”
“I’m still not totally sure how” Willow said. “But when he threatened Tara I knew I had to get rid of it.”
“You beat it” Tara said proudly.
“Marcus escaped” Willow said.
“At the cost of everything” Tara pointed out. “And I meant the dark magic, you beat it.”
They looked up as Mike and Nadia emerged from a side corridor. “How’s Omi?” Dawn asked.
“Pretty much fine” Mike said, smiling. “They want to do some more tests, but they think she’ll be discharged today. You can all come in and see her now.”
“Any ideas what you guys are gonna do now?” Buffy asked as they headed for the ward.
“Well, the other warriors are staying with the Order” Mike said. “They’re meeting with another group, then they’ll be reassigned.”
“Won’t they tell about how you helped us?” Willow asked.
“The Order already knows that” Mike said. “The Lord wasn’t destroyed, only sent back to their home dimension.”
“Aren’t you worried?” Tara asked.
“Well, the Lord’s themselves don’t have emotions, so they don’t understand the whole concept of revenge” he told them. “Some of the other Order members, on the other hand…” he gave a grim smile. “We’ll keep a low profile.” He stopped and gestured at a cubicle. “Here we are.”
Dawn pulled the curtain back and dashed in, the others filed in behind her. As Willow and Tara made to follow, Mike stepped in front of them and said in a low voice “the balance point is over, there’s no way they can change things back now, and the Order won’t come after you for revenge.”
“Good to know” Tara said, relieved.
“But” Mike went on, “the Order considers you all criminals, and you did banish a Lord of Order, that’s never been done before to my knowledge. Its possible they now consider you a threat.”
“They’ll come for us?” Willow asked worriedly, holding on to Tara’s arm.
“I don’t know” Mike said. “They might.” He shrugged. “Be careful.” With that he turned and followed the others in to Omi’s cubicle.
*******************
“Do you think Omi will be ok?” Willow asked as they walked across the hospital car-park. “I mean, living on the run with two demon hunters, or whatever Mike and Nadia decide to do.”
“I think she’ll be fine” Tara said, grinning at the memory of Omi’s enthusiasm. “You heard what she said, she wants to help people. I think she’s relieved to be out of the Order, all that secrecy and ‘ends justify the means’ stuff.”
“Oh man” Xander said as he opened the car door, looking up at the sky. “I’ve gotta go to work in a few hours.”
“You can sleep at ours for a couple if you like” Buffy offered.
Xander grinned and nodded. “Aren’t you working today too?” he asked.
“Not till evening” Buffy replied, climbing in to the passenger seat. “Plenty of time for my daily four hours.”
“Anya, you wanna crash at ours?” Dawn asked as she, Willow and Tara crammed in to the back.
The demon shook her head. “I’m not tired” she said grouchily. “Demon, remember? Besides, the shop opens in a few hours.” She turned and walked away.
“Bye Anya!” they all called, but the demon shopkeeper ignored them, then teleported in a flash of light.
********************
Dawn waved to Buffy, then closed the door and ran upstairs. Knocking on Willow and Tara’s door, she half opened it before remembering her manners and closing it again, then opened it again when Willow called “come in.”
“Sorry” Dawn said sheepishly. “Knock then wait, knock then wait, knock then wait” she repeated under her breath. “Where’s Tara?”
“She went to see Anya” Willow told her. “What’s up?”
“Buffy went to work, and its kinda creepy down stairs with the couch all blown up.”
“I know what you mean” Willow agreed. “Still, the insurance covers it and we’ll get a new one next week sometime.” Her tone grew more serious as Dawn sat down on the bed. “How are you doing?”
Dawn rubbed at the dressing over her shoulder and arm. “Its ok, the burn wasn’t that bad.”
“That’s good” Willow said. “How about up here” she said, pointing at her head. “New memories and everything.”
Dawn frowned. “Um, yeah, some of them are kinda scary” she admitted. “But I know it wasn’t you, not really. I know you’d never hurt me, no matter what happened.” Willow flashed her a grateful smile. “How about yours, they’ve gotta be so much worse. At least mine had a happy ending.”
Willow grinned widely. “You saved Tara” she said. “And me.” Her smile faded a little. “That spell you did…”
“It was pretty cool” Dawn said grinning, not noticing Willow’s change of mood.
“Dawn” Willow said. “I can’t, none of us could tell you that you did the wrong thing, or that we wouldn’t have tried to do the same. But that spell was dangerous, if it hadn’t worked it would have killed you. And it was dark magic.”
“But it did work…” Dawn protested.
“I’m not attacking you” Willow said quickly. “The fact that the spell worked shows you have power, the fact that you found it easy to use dark magic is worrying.” At the horrified look on Dawn’s face she went on. “I’m not saying I think you’d get addicted, just that I think you ought to know something about magic.”
“You’re gonna teach me magic?!” Dawn asked excitedly.
“I’m going to discuss it with Buffy” Willow said. “I want to teach you some of the theory and history of magic, and the meditations I use to resist dark magic. And maybe some spells” she said as Dawn’s face began to fall.
“Oh, wow!” Dawn said excitedly.
“And you’re not going to read the book you used to change things” Willow said sternly. “At least not until Tara and I have.”
“Ok” Dawn said, practically bouncing with excitement. She calmed down a little. “Willow, you never answered my question.”
“Huh?”
“How are you doing, with the memories?” Dawn asked gently.
“Ok, sorta” Willow said. “I keep telling myself that it wasn’t me, that I never did those things, but…”
“Maybe, maybe they’re like mine” Dawn said. “I mean, most of my memories never actually happened, but they’re still mine, still a part of me. These are a part of you. Not a good part, I admit…”
“But Willow Rosenberg did do those things” Willow said miserably. “They are a part of me.”
“But you see, because they’re a part of you, you decide how to use them” Dawn said. “You could let them make you feel guilty, or you could use them as a warning, against a road you can never let yourself go down.”
Willow looked up, smiling. “Buffy was right, y’know” she said. “You can be disturbingly insightful sometimes.”
********************
The bell rang as Tara pushed open the door. The Magic Box had been closed for several hours but Anya hadn’t locked up yet. She’d been living at the shop since her demon nature meant she didn’t need the comforts humans did.
The demon shopkeeper sat at the main table, her elbows on the table and her hands together in front of her face. As Tara got closer she saw that Anya was holding something. As she dropped in to a chair opposite her she saw it was a pendant, silver metal surrounding a green gemstone, hanging from a silver chain. Anya held it so that the pendant swung in front of her face, her eyes flickering as they followed its movement.
“Its not an emerald” Anya said, not taking her eyes from the pendant.
“Huh?” Tara asked.
“The stone, it looks like an emerald, but its not.” Anya sighed and finally took her eyes from it, looking across at Tara. “It’s the source of my power, its what makes me a demon.”
Tara had already guessed that much, but she simply nodded. The demon’s sombre mood was worrying her.
“All my power” Anya said ironically. “Physically I’m as strong as Buffy, with the wish I can do things you and Willow never could, and how much use am I?” she asked rhetorically. “I’m even more useless than Xander.”
“You’re not useless” Tara said firmly.
“Oh no? That order lord thing froze me as easily as it did everyone else, I couldn’t teleport in to the house, I couldn’t break through the barrier. The whole time people were trying to kill you, I couldn’t do a thing!”
“You helped, you fought with us” Tara pointed out. She gave one of her lopsided smiles. “And I appreciate it.”
“I didn’t want you to be hurt” Anya said quietly, her eyes returning to the pendant.
“Because we’re friends” Tara said. “Which makes you far from useless.”
“Don’t you get it?” Anya asked, her voice suddenly loud and angry. “I’m a vengeance demon, I’m not supposed to have friends, I’m not supposed to want to help people. I’m supposed to hurt people.” Her voice grew quiet again. “I’m even worse at being a demon than I was at being human.”
Tara sighed. “Anya” she said sympathetically. “You know what we all think would be best for you, you know what D’Hoffren thinks. I think you have to decide what you think would be best for you.”
Anya looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe, maybe you could take it…” she said, offering Tara the pendant.
“Sorry Anya” Tara said as she stood and turned to leave. “Some decisions you have to make by yourself.”
Anya watched her friend as she crossed the empty shop and left. Then her eyes returned once more to the pendant.
********************
“Do you think Anya will really become human again?” Willow asked as she watched her lover pull on a nightie.
“I don’t know, I hope so” Tara said, moving to the bed and sitting on it. “But its something she has to decide for herself.”
Willow nodded. “Do you think he’ll come back?” she asked, looking over at the corner where they had imprisoned Marcus.
“Only if he’s stupid” Tara said. “He knows we’ll stop him, no matter how much power he steals, and he knows he can’t tempt you with dark magic.”
Willow smiled as that fact finally sunk in. “No, he can’t. There’s only one thing I need…” she moved forward and kissed Tara.
When they finally pulled apart, Tara asked; “do you still remember everything, from the balance point?”
“Yeah, I think everyone does” Willow said. “But they’ve all been really nice about it, saying they know I won’t let it happen.”
“Do you believe them?” Tara asked.
“Hmm, mostly” Willow admitted. “I know they’re still a little scared, I’m still a little scared. But only a little.”
Tara nodded, pleased that Willow was no longer terrified of losing control. “What about your memories?” she asked gently.
“Yeah, they’re pretty bad” Willow admitted, grimacing. “But Dawn said something today that really helped.”
“Dawnie? Buffy’s gonna be freaked” Tara said, laughing.
“Thank you” Willow said suddenly.
“For what?” Tara asked.
“For not being scared of me when you saw what I could have been, for believing I could keep control, for making me feel special, for being you, need I go on?”
Tara took hold of both her hands. “Well, I find being me quite easy, but then I’ve had a lot of practise” she said, giving one of her half smiles. “And making you feel special is easy, because you are, and because its how you make me feel too. And believing in you and not being scared of you were easy, because I know you.” She leaned forward and hugged Willow, and said in her ear; “and because I love you.”
“I love you” Willow said, holding Tara close.
After a few minutes she noticed that Tara was pulling on the shoulder of her tank top. “Baby? Everything ok?” she asked, pulling out of the hug.
“Everything’s fine” Tara said grinning, moving her hands to Willow’s shoulders and slipping her fingers under the top. “But I think this had better come off.”
Willow grinned back at her. “Yes ma’am.”
********************
The End
So that’s it. Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone who posted feedback, especially those with constructive criticism (thanks Grimmy!).
Sorry it took so long to finish, I think next time I write I’ll finish the whole thing, then start posting. As far as next time goes, I have got some notes for a sequal…
Anyway, thanks for being patient,
chronic
Hail to the sun god, he's a very fun god, Ra Ra Ra!Edited by: chronic at: 6/27/03 8:59 am
With all the "Killing Tara might be the thing that pushes Willow over the edge like it did before" thing.
Maybe the "book" will be his undoing. You know what they say about absolute power...
She might have a singular chance to have walked one road and then make another choice. Tara has less information and more wisdom than everybody put together. *sigh*
What a cliffer.
comments about not giving the audience what they want but what they need and other such 
. 