Couple of notes I wanted to post. Alright, I want to know what you all think about two characters I've thrown in here. The first one is Nora and if she should be a good match with Buffy, that is if I make her gay in my story. And the other character is Peter Wilkins Graham, my evil greedy scientist. I just want to know what you think of him. All that said, on with the story.
isclaiDisclaimers: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of it's characters. The (until recently) brilliant Joss Whedon does. I do not intend to make any type of profit off the story or stories I do. Like the Soulmate Series, Joss Whedon owns the inspiration I have to write them. If you have any comments or criticisms about my work, please feel free to email them to me at letsrocket_1998@yahoo.com. I check my email about two times a day, so I'll be sure to get your comments and I'll reply to them.
Spoilers: All seasons of BtVS are fair game, but specifically those for Seeing Red, Villains, Two to Go, and Grave.
Timeline: The timeline for this story is about two days after the Xander and Willow scene on Grave. So, two days after the episode ended. I hope that satisfies your curiosity.
Author's Note 1: Alright, one thing to note right away. Within this story is a crossover, sort of, with the movie The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. While I'm not putting in characters from the movies, there are elements of that movie that I'm putting in for my story. This is NOT, I repeat NOT, a parody of The Mummy or The Mummy Returns. I want to clear that up right now. I'm merely using certain elements that were in that movie and applying them here. With that said, I hope you enjoy reading my newest story. Cheers.
Author's Note 2: Alright, as you can probably guess, there's an original character here named Nora Cross. She's my creation and she's going to fill the position that Sonya Baxter did in my Soulmate Series. What I mean is, she's going to be the means that gives Willow the chance to get Tara back and she's also going to have an infatuation with Buffy. Buffy, likewise, is going to be infatuated by Nora. You'll get the picture as the story goes along. And PS, Nora is not going to be a backstabber. I didn't like doing that with Sonya Baxter. And if you want to get a picture of who I envision Nora looking like, look at Renee O'Connor from Xena in Season Three. The long blonde locks, simply gorgeous!
Author's Note 3: Okay, there are two other characters I want you to think about. Okay, obviously Peter Wilkins Graham is my bad guy here. So, just know that right off. And if my story was an episode of Buffy on television, I can see Maxwell Price being played by William Hurt. That's who I see Maxwell looking like. And Renee O'Connor as Nora, but that's already been covered.
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Start of Defying All [/u]
Prologue...
Her heart died the very second that bullet sounded. She was coherent enough to realize that. She had watched with utter horror as a tiny piece of metal took from her the only real positive thing she had in life. The only thing that kept her wanting to get up in the mornings. The most wonderful thing in her life. A tiny piece of steel propelled by hatred had took the light away from Willow Rosenberg.
In the moments that followed that action, Willow had changed. She knew her soul had forever changed the moment she saw the red spot on her wonderful soulmate's blue shirt. The moment a splash of red dotted her clothing. When the light faded from those green eyes, Willow had felt a burning and seething hatred form in the very depths of her soul unlike anything she'd ever felt before. And the strange part was the she wanted that rage, she wanted that hatred to take command of her body and exact her revenge on the one responsible.
It was the simple fact that without Tara Maclay, Willow didn't want to live. She'd gone out, with her rage controlling her, her anger and hatred moving her body and she let the darkness from the dark arts books fill her body and make her powerful. She'd went out and took the life of the one who took Tara's, never considering the consequences because she simply didn't care anymore. And she had gotten what she wanted. She'd killed Warren Mears for what he'd done to Tara and almost did to Buffy. But it wasn't the end there.
Willow'd wanted revenge against the other two. The co-conspirators with Warren. And she'd gone to find them. With hatred propelling her actions, she went up against her long standing best friend. In her heart, she hadn't wanted to fight Buffy, she just wanted to take out her misery on anyone who was connected to Warren. And she wanted to get rid of anyone or anything that stood in her way.
Everything had ended horribly for Willow Rosenberg. She'd tried to end the world, but it didn't happen that way. Giles had come back to help them bring her back to her old self, but they hadn't realized a very important fact. No matter what they did, Willow would never be her old self. She'd taken a human life and not only would she need help dealing with it, but she'd lost her meaning. She'd lost the one person she needed to survive.
Without Tara to anchor Willow, the redhead simply had no desire to live anymore. And when she sat there on her knees, Xander's arms around her as she cried out her despair, her agony of losing both Tara and her blood innocense, she couldn't fathom herself ever wanting to look forward to a new day. And she knew that she would never be able to wake up with the same peace of mind ever again. Tara had been ripped away from her and Willow wasn't sure she would ever be the same again.
She'd sat there for over an hour with him, her crying out her pain at Tara's death and him stroking her hair and trying his best to be there for her because they both knew that it would get worse before she would get better, if that ever happened. But after an hour had passed, Willow just stayed there, collapsed and her gaze kept on the rocky and pebbled ground as Xander supported her upper body. He was silently stroking her hair, knowing there were no words to take away the pain she was feeling right now.
He couldn't compare his situation with Anya to hers. Because he still had a chance with Anya and she was still alive. Willow would never again be able to touch Tara, to kiss her lips or stroke her cheek. Willow would never again see Tara's smile and that thought made Xander want to cry along with her. But he knew he couldn't. He needed to stay strong for her sake, otherwise, she might start crying again. After a few moments of stillness between the two of them, Xander reached down to tilt her face up towards his. He took in her tear covered face with sadness in his heart.
"You okay?" Xander asked, worried when he saw the emotionless orbs of her eyes.
She closed her eyes and leaned back. "No." she whispered.
Slowly, he watched as she rose from the ground, beginning to stare at her clothing after doing so. She was still wearing the dark clothes that she'd worn when she had the dark magick. She shook her head and more tears began to fall. Xander rose from his position and carefully folded his arms around her again, hugging her.
She welcomed the comfort for a few moments before she pulled away and began walking away from the top of Kingman's Bluff. Xander followed silently, staying a few steps behind her. He knew she needed time and space right now. "Where are you going?" he asked her after a few moments of walking.
"B....back to the house, I guess." Willow said shakily.
No more words were spoken as they returned to the streets of Sunnydale. About a half hour walk later, the two were approaching the front door to the Summers House. They approached the front door when Willow suddenly stopped, her eyes going wide as she started breathing heavily.
"Willow?" Xander asked, concerned for his friend.
"I...I..I don't think I...I can go in there." she stammered, backing up.
Xander grabbed her left shoulder with his right hand. He looked steadily into her eyes. "Why?" he asked simply.
"T....the others are probably in there. I can't face them.....not after what I've done." she whispered.
Xander took a deep breath. He looked at the closed door for a moment before returning his eyes to his best friend. "Will, trust me. Buffy and everyone are worried about you. None of us hate you. Alright, we are all here for you. Can you believe me?"
Her lips were trembling with the emotions she was feeling, but she nodded and allowed him to lead her to the house. He opened the door and silently led her inside the house. Upon entering the house, he turned to his left, with her and met the very concerned gazes facing them. Buffy and Dawn were inside. The two sisters rose as they entered the house.
"My god Willow, are you alright?" Buffy asked as she moved over. Once she saw the red hair and the devastated eyes, she knew for sure that her best friend was back.
And from there, the healing process that Willow would have to endure began. She didn't sleep in her room that night. She slept in the spare room Buffy had and she swore to never sleep or even go into that room ever again. Her soul was forever damaged, but for the benefit of her friends, she would try to live her life.
Chapter 1
( Two days later)
The woman was nervous. Scratch that, the women was terrified. She was finally in Sunnydale and she had no idea where to go to look for the person she was here to see. The woman had long blonde hair and deep green eyes. With white creamy skin that was slightly golden from being out in the sun, the woman had a body that made every man's head turn when she walked by. It's not that she flaunted her body to get attention, it's just that she had a knockout body and no amount of makeup or extra clothes could change that. She was in Sunnydale for a very special reason.
For the better part of the last year, she'd been trying to track down her half sister. She had very little information to start with, but she'd been able to gather a little more each day. A year ago to the day, she had been in Egypt as part of a dig. Her boss had lost his funding and the dig had to be canceled. And that's when the blonde woman decided that she'd try to find her half sister.
Her father had told her just before he died that he'd once fallen in love with someone. With a woman who had told him that she was what is known as a natural witch. At first, this surprised the blonde woman because she had thought her father hadn't known about the supernatural beings that existed throughout the world. But she'd been surprised to learn that her father had had a brief affair with the witch and a child had resulted out of it.
But she was also saddened at what her father had told her as well. Her father had told her of the witch's husband, who was a, as her father put it, heartless bastard who doesn't deserve to have a loving wife or a son. But the man had both because the witch wouldn't leave him. It had ended with her father leaving the town this had happened at with her. The blonde woman's mother had given her up to her father to raise. And her father had raised her right. He showed her love and caring and taught her to never judge anyone by their appearance. And the woman took what her father told her to heart.
Her father had died before the woman joined the dig in Egypt. But she had promised her father that she would find her half sister after this dig was over. And not that it was over, she felt the time to keep her promise was at hand. So, she left Egypt and she headed to New York to visit her father's grave. After that, she logged onto the internet to do a search for her half sister. She typed in the name her father had told her was her half sister's name and it gave her over thirty responses.
So she'd spent the better part of the last year going from address to address, trying to find her half sister. Right now, she was sitting on a seat in the bus as it pulled into the University of California at Sunnydale. As the bus slowed down, she rose from her seat and gathered her small duffel bag that kept her clothes and other items inside it. Getting out of the bus, she walked over towards the residence hall the computer told her this individual of the name gave her. She entered the double glass doors and walked over to a small desk where a student was flipping through a magazine.
"Excuse me?" the blonde woman said first.
The student looked up under dark eye lashes. "Yeah?"
The blonde woman was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt tucked into them. She smiled down at the student. "Yes, I'm looking for someone."
"Aren't we all!" the student mock joked.
"Yeah, but this person is my half sister and I was given this residence hall." the blonde woman said.
"Okay," the student said, taking the conversation serious now, "do you have a name?"
She nodded as she spoke the two words that were her half sister's name. The student pulled out a binder that had different papers inside it after she spoke the name. He flipped through different pages until he came to the page that he was looking for. He looked at the page for a moment before he grabbed his cell phone and dialed a quick phone number. "Yes, admissions, this is Henry over at Stevenson Hall. I have a woman here who's looking for a student that's supposed to be here. The student's not here, but can I give her information about where to find someone who knows the student?"
The woman in front of him listened to his words and her hearing could easily pick up the other voice through her enhanced hearing. She tried to look surprised as she waited for him to end the call. The student ended the call and picked up a note pad and wrote name followed by an address down. He looked up and handed it to her. "I'm sorry but we're not allowed to give out the information about the student you're trying to reach. But we are allowed to give you this." he said, handing her the paper. "Go to this address and the people who live there will be able to give you whatever information you need about your half sister."
"Thank you." the blonde woman replied, shaking his hand. A moment later, she started to leave, but stopped. "Is this very far from here?"
"No, it's actually a white house about a half mile north of here. You can't miss it." the student replied.
"Okay, thanks again." the blonde woman said before she turned and headed out of the Stevenson Hall and began heading away from the University. She was one step closer to finding out if this address was going to get her any closer to her half sister.
**********
It was a very tense and strained time at the Summers House. Two days had passed and still Willow had yet to say any more than ten words in one sentence. Ever since Xander had brought her back to the house, the only words she'd spoken were yeses or nos and she only spoke those when asked. She also became very desolate, spending most of her time in the spare room while Buffy, Xander, and Giles tried their best to help Willow through the trauma that she was going through.
But the truth was that they didn't know how to help the redhead. They all knew that the relationship that Willow and Tara had shared was a special one, one that had an emotional bond that no one could really understand because it was so unique and powerful that it surprised anyone who was around them. They all wanted to tell Willow that things would get better through time, but they couldn't voice the words when they themselves didn't really believe them.
And during the past two days, Buffy and Xander had completely taken care of the room that had once been Willow and Tara's bedroom. They moved all of Willow's stuff to the redhead's new room and they'd boxed all of Tara's stuff and put it in the basement for Willow to take care of when she was ready.
The police had come by the day before to ask some questions about the shooting. The officer that had questioned Buffy and Xander was nice and sincere and even though he did positively identify Willow as the attacker at the jail, he kept that bit of information to himself since no one else really had any idea who it was. He had recognized Willow when the redhead had come downstairs to answer the questions, but for some reason that no one understood, he kept quiet and they were all very grateful for him in doing so. And he'd left after getting some answers to who the shooter was.
But today, Willow secured herself away in her new room and had the door shut and locked so no one would interrupt her. Buffy was downstairs with Dawn, Xander, and Giles and they all were in the living room with no real idea of what to do to help the redhead. Giles did have another concern about Willow, though.
"I'm worried about her magic." he said after a few minutes of silence.
"Giles, she doesn't have any magic left." Buffy pointed out. "Since that coven's power drained her."
Giles shook his head. He was sporting a bandage on his face. "The power from the coven didn't drain her, it was her emotions that did that. The coven's power only let her feel the last of her humanity. But the magic is inside her. Not the dark magic that she consumed, but the real magic. The magic a witch is born with. That's still there and until she can control it, she's going to be a danger in the future. Maybe not as volatile as two days ago, but still a danger."
Xander looked at the Englishman. "What exactly can we do to help her then?"
Giles pinched his nose. "There's a training technique I know of that helps powerful witches learn to harness their powers before the power ruins them. It's a very hard and difficult training, but it does work. I think we might need to get Willow to go."
"That might be what she needs, but it won't be what she does. She's not going to want to go." Dawn quipped.
"Maybe not, but we can't let her stay here in her condition. She's.....she's suicidal right now. She's in a very deep depression right now that we have to get her out of before it's too late." Giles told them.
"What do you mean 'before it's too late'?" Buffy asked, watching him like a hawk.
Giles leaned forward in his seat. "This depression she's in, it's only going to get worse. And sooner or later, it's going to progress to the point that she's going to start pushing everyone around her away. She's not going to want to be around anyone. I've seen it happen many times. That's when the person decides to just end their misery by taking their life. Willow is vastly approaching that point."
"Well, we have to stop that from happening!" Dawn said, now alarmed.
"We will, but it starts with the training in England. The training was designed to help witches learn how to control their energy, but it was also designed to help them reach an inner peace. If we can get Willow to begin the training, it may help her with this depression." Giles urged.
A knock at the front door interrupted their intense conversation and Buffy headed over to the door to answer it. "Then that's what we'll do." Buffy told him before she reached the door. She pulled the door open and her eyes widened at the person she saw there. The woman that stood there was drop dead gorgeous to Buffy's eyes. She was about Buffy's own height with long blond hair that was hanging freely. She had creamy white skin with a golden hue to it that made her look like a goddess. Her emerald green eyes grabbed Buffy's attention at once. And full red lips that were parted slightly and turned upwards into a small smile.
The Slayer felt a heat form around her face and spread outward when the woman smiled at her. Buffy had never felt such things from a woman before. The last time she felt what she was feeling now was with Angel. It wasn't lust, but it was something entirely different. Buffy swallowed as she tried to gather her wits before the others saw her face. "Can I.....can I help you?" she asked the woman.
The woman was slightly speechless. When the Slayer opened the door, the woman's eyes had opened wider when she saw her. The curly blonde locks shaped around a perfectly sculptured face had taken the woman's breath away. And she felt very distinct feelings in the pit of her stomach that spread outward and the woman knew that she was entranced with Buffy. She'd learned early on in her life that she was more interested in women than guys and she'd even had a few one night stands with a few women, but she was never in a long term relationship with any of them. But the fact is that none of them had ever rendered her breathless like Buffy just did to her.
The woman snapped out of her haze enough to answer the question. Business first, horny girl. She scolded herself. You can try to have your fun later. She looked at the other blonde woman and pulled the note the student had given her out. "Are you....Buffy Summers or Willow Rosenberg?" she asked, looking back up.
Buffy raised her eyebrows. "I'm Buffy."
The blonde woman looked up. "Thank goodness I found your house. The student at Stevenson Hall directed me here."
"Alright," Buffy said, now wanting to know who the woman was and why she was here, "what can I do for you?"
The woman now saw three other people gather near the door, eyeing her suspiciously. "Um...I'm looking for my half sister. The student at Stevenson Hall directed me here."
"And who is your half sister?" Giles asked, now curious.
"I was told by my father that her name was Tara Maclay." the woman said, eyeing them. She noted immediately the looks that crossed their faces. There was a mixture of dread, sorrow, and barely disquised suspicion clouding their faces. And the woman was beginning to wonder if coming here was such a good idea.
"And just who was your father?" Xander asked, finding himself coming to Tara's defense, surprising even him.
The woman bristled at the tone directed about her father. "My father's name was William Cross. Look, I didn't come here to pick a fight with anyone. I've been going from city to city for the past year, trying to find my half sister. I was told, by my father, that her name was Tara Maclay and that her brother's name was Donny. Can you help me or am I wasting my time?!" she said hotly.
Without being able to stop herself, Buffy licked her lips at seeing the woman's flash of anger. She found it sexy. WOW! Did I just think she's sexy. That can't be right. I'm not gay, at least I don't think I am. Buffy thought to herself. Then, she concentrated on the woman's words and closed her eyes. She was fairly certain that the woman wasn't a a threat and she stepped aside, allowing the woman to step inside quietly. They all walked into the living room.
The woman sat down at the far corner of the couch while Buffy stayed by the entrance way to the living room. "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name?"
The woman looked up at her. "Nora, my name is Nora Cross."
Buffy gave her a quick small smile. "I'm Buffy. This is Giles, Xander, and my sister Dawn. I'm glad your sitting down because we do know about your half sister."
Nora sighed a sigh of relief at finally finding her half sister. She was beginning to wonder if she'd ever find her. "Thank god." she breathed. "Can you direct me to her?"
Buffy glanced at Giles before looking back at Nora. "Miss Cross," she said, "I'm afraid Tara was.....she was involved in a shooting a couple of days ago and she passed away." Funny how saying it can make you feel the pain. Buffy felt tears strike her eyes at the unfairness of it.
Nora Cross looked at the floor for a few moments after hearing Buffy's words. "How badly was her body hurt?" she asked after a moment. She'd realized long ago that the possibility existed that her half sister could already be dead when she found her and the blonde haired woman had done her research on a lot of different matters. Her mind was already spinning with different ideas.
"What?" Dawn's upset voice spoke up.
Nora looked at the younger woman. "I'm sorry to phrase it like that. I just need to know because...I might be able to help."
"How can you help?" Giles asked, beginning to become annoyed with the woman.
Nora looked at her duffel bag for a moment. "Well, if Tara was taken unjustly then the possibility of her soul being returned to her body isn't completely out of the question."
"What do you mean?" Xander asked, interested.
Nora sighed, how could she phrase it that they'd understand. During her time in Egypt, she'd learned a lot about the Egyptian Gods and their Goddesses and about a lot of different things. She'd read a lot of extensive stuff about resurrections and about how it is possible, given certain circumstances. "I mean, was Tara taken before she meant to? Have any of you tried a resurrection spell?"
They were all silent for a moment, but then a voice spoke up that none of them would have expected to speak. "Absolutely not!!" Willow Rosenberg's voice boomed from the top of the stairs.
Buffy looked up at her friend, seeing the tears and the rage being directed at Nora.
Chapter 2
Willow Rosenberg sat upstairs in her new room. She was at the head of her bed with her back resting against the headboard and her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms around them. She kept her head touching her arms as she tried to fight the onslaught of tears that kept trying to bubble up to the surface. It seemed that no matter what she did, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop herself from feeling the agony of losing her beloved Tara.
Every moment she looked anywhere in the house, she caught a glimpse of a memory just wanting to be remembered. Some memories were happy ones, others were those sad reminders of the fights they'd had many months earlier. And the others didn't know it, but the room Willow was in had certain memories to her. She and Tara would sometimes use this room for their personal intimate activities when they were rushed. Or when others were in the house and they didn't want to be disturbed, they'd use this room so they wouldn't be disturbed. And Willow could still feel what it was like to hold Tara in her arms or have Tara hold her in her arms. She could still feel it and the memories were slowly driving her insane.
She looked around the room she was in with bloodshot eyes. Her cheeks were already wet from her tears and looking around the room didn't help her any. Every aching moment of being awake was like a daily reminder of not only what she'd lost, but what she'd done in the moments following Tara's shooting. She took a human life. Willow felt it the moment she lifted her hand and saw Warren's body skinned before her eyes. She'd done that in revenge for Tara. For Tara. She'd done it for Tara.
And that thought made her smile. She'd heard it said somewhere that you know you love someone when you'd kill to protect them or to avenge them. And even though Willow knew she loved Tara before that day two days ago happened, knowing what she did as an act of revenge against Warren just reinforced that. But what she'd ended up almost doing to her friends was something else entirely.
She'd come so close to ending their lives and the lives of everyone on the planet. If it hadn't been for Xander's act at the top of Kingman's Bluff, Willow was sure she'd be in Hell right now for the life she'd taken. And the thought that she would spend an eternity in Hell while Tara was in Heaven was enough to make her scream in painful agony. But she didn't, she remained quiet. And the knowledge that she had gladly wanted to end the world to stop her suffering made her want to vomit.
She knew she wanted revenge against Warren, Jonathon, and Andrew for what happened, but the fact that she took her rage out on her friends was something she didn't want to face. She knew beyond a doubt that her dark side was extremely powerful. That her rage and anger had given form to her and that being that had taken over her body, even if she gladly did so, cared not for her friends, just on the end. And now, as she sat here in this room, Willow came to realize that she owed her friends an explanation of her actions and an apology for the things she'd done and the things she'd said. Especially to Dawn.
She was sure Dawn hated her right now. Willow had tried to turn her back to the Key. And she'd said many things about all of them and Willow wanted nothing more than to just roll up and die. But she knew that before she could could carry out the plan she'd made this morning, she would make her peace with her friends. Slowly, she sat up and rose from the bed and approached the door.
She opened the door a moment later and approached the stairs. As she neared, she heard voices in the living room. Most of them she recognized, but there was one voice that she did not recognize. It was a woman's voice, but it was one she'd never heard of before. Willow was about to turn around and return to her room and wait for the woman to leave when she heard the woman speak the name of her beloved Tara.
Her curiosity got the better of her and she turned back around and leaned against the wall, still out of sight to them and easedropped on their conversation.
"How badly was her body hurt?" was the first question she heard from the woman. That was followed by another question. "Was Tara taken before she was meant to?" But none of those two questions could measure up to the last question the redhead heard before she was propelled into action by the sudden urge to speak up after she heard the question uttered. "Have any of you tried a resurrection spell?"
Willow moved away from the wall and stood at the top of the stairs and let her voice be known to everyone who was down there. "Absolutely not!" she called down, her eyes staring intently into the green eyes of the woman she didn't know.
Buffy stared up at her friend, surprised to see her out of her room. "Willow." she said up, but the redhead's eyes refused to meet hers as she continued to stare into Nora's eyes.
"Buffy, who is this woman?" Willow demanded.
Buffy approached the now upset witch with caution. "I'm pretty sure she's Tara's half sister."
Hearing this, Willow turned and looked at Buffy and quickly read her eyes. Buffy seemed to believe that this woman was the half sister of her beloved Tara. Willow looked at the woman as she descended the stairs. "Do you have any proof that you are who you say you are?" she asked.
Nora Cross laid her duffel bag down and slowly rose, watching the redheaded woman that slowly walked down the stairs. When she first saw Willow, the powerfully enhanced senses she was born with told her that this woman was not only a witch, but a rather powerful witch who was recently using great power for bad purposes. And Nora was also a gifted seer. She could read auras of a person's mystical psyche. And reading this woman's aura told Nora that this woman was still very powerful.
She tilted her head to one side as she spoke to the woman, trusting her innate instincts now more than ever. "You must have loved my sister very much." she commented.
You could have heard a single pin drop when the silence in the entire house reigned. Every single person in the house stilled and stayed silent, all watching Willow and just hoping that the redhead wouldn't take offense to what the blonde woman had said. Willow stared hard into Nora's eyes and was surprised to see compassion and caring in the green eyes. She hadn't seen green eyes that shade since her beloved Tara and now she was beginning to believe that maybe this woman was related to Tara.
"Yes," she said, "I loved Tara more than anything else in the world."
That seemed to settle the sudden chilled silence as they all took a collective sigh of relief that Willow wasn't going to explode. Instead, the redhead sat down on one of the stairs and kept watching the woman. "Who are you?" she asked after a minute.
Nora walked over towards Willow. "My name is Nora Cross. And as for the proof, I do have it. A little over a year ago, my father confessed to me before he died that he'd once been in love with a woman." Nora said, looking at the others so they could know she was talking to them as well. "And this woman loved my father very much as well. But, the woman that I now know as my mother had a husband and a son. And even though they loved each other, she wouldn't leave her husband."
"The woman was Tara's mother." Giles said, more as a statement than a question.
"Yes," Nora nodded, her hands now in her pockets, "and I was created by their brief affair. When her husband learned of this, he gave her an ultimatum and he gave my father a threat. He had my mother so afraid of him that he knew she wouldn't leave. And he threatened my father by saying that he would kill me while I was still in my mother's womb if he didn't agree to what her husband wanted."
"What did he want?" Buffy asked.
Nora had a look of disgust on her face. "He wanted to be rid of my father and me. So he made a deal with his wife and my father. As soon as I was born, she was to say goodbye to me and my father would take me away from her forever. And that's the way it happened. My father raised me as best he could and I ended up becoming an archeologist. But just before he died, my father told me that he'd kept in touch with my mother following the years of my birth and he'd learned that she did in fact have another child after me. That child was my sister that was named Tara Maclay."
Willow looked down at her feet, unable to say anything.
"And he wanted me to find Tara and tell her about me and about him. He wanted Tara to know that he was sorry he couldn't take her away from her father's abuse." Nora said. "And after he died, I joined a dig in Egypt, where I've learned a lot about the Egyptian Mythology. After my employer's funding went out, I left Egypt to begin my search for my half sister. I had a list of over thirty different Tara Maclays that lived in America and I've spent the past year trying to track her down. And I guess I've found her at last." Nora shook her head.
"I'm sorry it went down this way." Dawn said to her.
Willow looked up as earlier words hit her. "Why did you ask them about resurrection spells?"
As soon as Willow asked the words, the others stared at Nora, now also wanting to know. Nora looked back at all of them. This would be the hard part, she was sure. "Because I happen to know for a fact that resurrection spells do exist and they do work. I asked you because from the sounds of it, I don't think Tara was meant to die the way she did."
"It's too late anyway." Willow said quietly after a few moments of silence.
"Why?" Buffy asked, sitting down next to Willow on the stairs.
Willow wouldn't answer, she just kept her gaze locked on the steps.
"You already tried, didn't you?" Nora asked, easily being able to guess that much.
Willow looked up at her sharply.
"You've already asked Osiris to bring her back. Am I right?" Nora asked.
Willow looked away.
"Willow," Giles spoke softly, "we need you to answer."
"Yes! Alright! I begged Osiris to bring her back but he refused. Or some demon for Osiris refused. He told me that a human life taken by human means can't be brought back." Willow yelled at them, her face full of sudden anger.
Nora looked out the window, trying to look at everything she knows about resurrection and putting that against what she knows about the Egyptian God Osiris. What Willow had told her just didn't add up. There was something missing here. She turned back towards the others, who were now watching her. "Are you sure this...demon or being that spoke for Osiris was actually representing Osiris?"
"What do you mean?" Willow asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Nora sighed, she had to phrase this right. "Well, like I've already said, I'm an archeaologist. I study fossils and stuff like that. But when I was in College, I was mystified by Egypt and Egyptian Mythology. It's all I studied. And I've done an extensive study of the Egyptian God Osiris, among others and what you told just doesn't add up."
"Will you explain it, then?" Giles asked, a little curious. He knew a little about Ancient Egypt, but not much.
Nora took a deep breath. "Well," she began, "history recognizes Osiris as the Egyptian God of the Underworld. But that's not his whole story. Before he rose to Godhood, he was a powerful Pharaoh of Egypt. But his brother Seth was envious of him and he killed Osiris and tore him into fourteen pieces. After his death, his widowed wife Isis and her sister Nephthys searched and found all fourteen pieces of Osiris's torn body and buried them. In doing this, they gave new life to Osiris and somehow, he became the Lord of the Underworld as a result."
They were all silent as Nora spoke.
"He was now in charge of life and death throughout Egypt. He has been credited by historians with the growth of vegetation to the continued flowing of the great Nile River. And his wife Isis has an interesting story as well. She became a great enchantress. Many historians recognize her abilites. She had the ability to heal gravely sick people, but those who morned those people hd to invoke her name for it to happen. But more importantly, she had the power to bring the dead back to life." Nora paused, letting them absorb that before she continued. "Now while it's not a proven fact among historians, some believe that Osiris alone does not control life and death in the world. They believe that he, among other judges of life and death, control it. I am one of those who believe the judges theory as it's been called. But from all my reading and researching of Ancient Egypt, I am convinced that Osiris would bring any soul back one time, but you would be in debt to him for a later date."
Willow rose after hearing this and approached Nora, tears in her eyes again. "Then why did he or his disciple refuse me?"
Nora's face was compassionate as was her voice. "That's just it, Willow. I don't think Osiris or any of Osiris's people even knew of your request when this shooting happened. I'm guessing it was one of these judges who doesn't want Tara returned." she said. The next words from her mouth were with complete seriousness. "Willow, everyone....I believe there is still a chance to bring Tara back. But you have to trust me."
Willow stepped back slowly, a sob catching in her throat. Buffy rose and put her arm around Willow, being as good a friend as she could. Xander and Giles stared at Nora for a long moment as Dawn helped Buffy with Willow.
"You want to explain that please?" Giles said to Nora.
She nodded. "I've done my reading on resurrections. I've even witness two resurrections successfully done. There's a book, a very powerful book that was written so long ago that the exact point of origin is unknown even today. It's called the Book of the Dead. The book holds the most powerful resurrection spells known to man. And it's spells have been enchanted and touched by Osiris and the greatest of all Egyptian Gods, Ra. As long as we can get to the book before one complete moon cycle passes, we can bring Tara back with this book. But we have to act quickly if we're going to do it."
"Where is this....Book of the Dead?" Willow asked from her seat on the couch.
Nora took a deep breath. "That's the thing you see. It was buried somewhere in the Egyptian city of Hamunaptra. Otherwise known as the City of the Dead. Many have tired to find the book, but it's exact location has never been discovered."
"Then how can you even suggest we go looking for this book!" Willow snapped.
Nora walked closer to her. "I said many have tried to find it. I have been one of them. And until recently, I had no idea where it was. When I was on my last dig, I came across an old stone tablet. I was the translater for the dig and written on the table was the exact location of the Book of the Dead. Now, I had no desire to see the book end up in some Museum for rich people to gawk at so before I showed it to anyone, I did my best to mess up the letters on the tablet. But I did read the tablet before I handed it to them. I know exactly where the Book is, we just need to get there."
Although Giles personally was against this, he knew it wasn't his decision. He was believing this was just another obstacle standing in the way of Willow's grieving. But he would let Willow make the decision, as they all would. If she said no, they wouldn't go and they would send this woman away. On the other hand, if Willow believed in this Book, then the others would stand behind Willow on this task.
It took less than two minutes for Willow to make the decision. She found herself believing in what this woman was saying to her and because she believed her, she would give her a chance. If there was a chance, even a small one to bring her lover back from the dead, then she would do whatever she had to make that happen. Looking at all her friends, then at Nora, the redheaded witch spoke. She nodded her head. "Let's do this." she said quietly.
Nora exhaled a sigh of relief. She had already known that if they refused, she was going to find the book on her own because she truly believed that Tara's time on Earth was not over. But now that they were going to give it a try, there were some concerns that Nora was worried about. "I do have some concerns that you all need to know about." she said.
"What concerns?" Dawn asked.
"Well, first off........Tara." seeing their looks, she tried to explain without upsetting them. "We have to...how can I put this...we have to keep Tara's body from..decomposing." she said.
A look of utter horror filled Willow's face.
"What I mean is..." Nora hastened to explain, "we need to find someplace to keep Tara while we go to Egypt. And we're going to have to keep her on ice, that's the only way to make sure her body stays intact."
"Alright," Giles said, taking over before Willow threw up from the words, "Xander and I will take Tara from the morgue tonight. I know of a place where we can keep her. Then, first thing tomorrow morning, we'll head out towards Egypt. I'll make the arrangements tonight."
They nodded, letting the older man take control of the situation. "Wait a minute, someone's going to have to stay here with....Tara." Dawn sudden interjected.
There were all silent as they thought about who they could get to do that. Then Xander spoke up. "Anya. Let me go talk to Anya and see if she'll do it."
"How long are we going to have?" Giles asked the blonde woman.
Nora crossed her arms. "Well, aside from Tara's physical condition, it's going to be thirty days and thirty nights before it'll be too late to perform the spell. We'll be in Egypt long before then. Finding the book shouldn't take anymore than a few days and we should be back here in time to do the right spell."
Giles nodded as Xander walked over and grabbed his bright brown jacket and pulled it on.
Nora looked at Xander with the jacket. "That's a weird looking jacket."
Xander didn't hear her comment as he was already leaving the door when she spoke up. Buffy looked at the door and shook her head. "Don't ask. He's got the strangest taste in clothes." she said, not bothering to comment on his taste in women.
Nora stayed quiet as they helped get Willow back upstairs. She had a lot to think about now.
Chapter 3
Doctor Peter Wilkins Graham grabbed his black dress blazer and pulled it over his shoulders after he pulled his white lab coat off. Today had been a very eventful day for the project he'd been working on for the better part of the last ten years. He was a man of about six feet tall in height and he had a normal man's body structure. He had hazel eyes and a dark head of hair. He wore a pair of silver rimmed eye glasses and he had a dark shaded thin beard and mustache.
Right now, Doctor Graham walked walked through different corridors of a secret military base hidden just outside Sunnydale. He walked through more corridors for a few more minutes before he came to a part of the walls that could easily be considered nothing but part of the wall. But the man knew differently. He reached into his pocket and produced a small card. Reaching up, he moved a picture frame slightly to one side and inserted the card.
A section of the wall moved inward to produce the interior of a elevator. Dr. Graham entered it and re-inserted his card into a different insertion point, effectively closing the opening. He punched in a code on the keypad and the elevator began moving downward, towards his goal. Peter Graham was the type of man who liked to make extraordinary achievements in technology and science. He'd worked his entire life for the military and government, obeying their orders, while at the same time, working for a single goal he'd always had.
Ever since he entered college, he'd had a dream. That dream was to discover the way to break that barrier that exists between life and death. To break that one wall that separates mortality from immortality. That became the basis for the project that began ten years ago. The military and government worked together with the hopes of building super soldiers to battle their enemies and Peter Graham was just the man to head their project. Peter Graham, however, had another more scientific goal in mind than creating super soldiers.
He wanted to break the gap between life and death. Find the secret to giving a person immortality. He knew the answer lay in science and technology. And because of that, he began to work with animals. Rats, insects, rabbits, small animals to begin with. He first tried to manipulate their DNA patterns. But the early tests ended in them death. Later, as more and more time wore on, Peter Graham began to realize that the secret to bringing a person's life back from the great beyond lie not with their DNA, but with scientific formulas. So, Dr. Graham began mixing and matching different potions together with hopes of finding that one formula that would break the gap.
And one week ago, Dr. Graham and his team did exactly that. They took a small rabbit and deliberately gave the small animal a vial of liquid that would speed the rabbit's heart up until it stopped altogether. Within an hour, the poor rabbit was dead. But that was only step one of the experiment. Step two came when they took the formula they had just finished and inserted the formulaic potion into the rabbit. It took a little over an hour, but the potion brought the rabbit back to life. The little furry animal had a fully functional heartbeat once again. And while Graham's superiors wanted achievements in the super soldier project, which he was still working on, he had broken the gap between life and death. But that was only in animals.
After they had returned the rabbit to life, Dr. Graham began to wonder if it would work on a recently deceased human being. His closest assistanst told him it was a bad idea to try it because things could go wrong. One of his assistants had ties with the other worldly beings like witches, warlocks, and the such. And that assistant had told him that there were resurrection spells that could bring a person back, but the person would sometimes come back wrong. And he warned Dr. Graham that the same could happen if they tried it with a human being.
Needless to say, Dr. Peter Wilkins Graham would no longer listen to their concerns. He wanted to know if it was possible to bring a human being back to life and he wanted to know now. So, he had ordered a team sent out to the Sunnydale Morgue and bring back someone recently killed or recently passed away and the call he had just recieved informed him that the team had returned with a body.
The elevator stopped at the level he'd entered and the doors slowly opened. Peter Graham stepped out of it and his first steps were onto a steel platform that led to steel steps. The area he was now at resembled the Initiative slightly. Dr. Graham stepped down the steps, one at a time and he saw his assistants waiting, going over their clipboards and trying to look busy. Peter knew they weren't really, though.
He waited until he stepped off the steps before he said anything to his assistants. "The body is here, I take it."
"Yes sir. The team returned an hour ago and we've been keeping it on ice since." one of his three assistants replied.
"Good." Peter Graham replied.
"Sir," the assistant with the ties to the other worldly beings said, "there are some concerns we've been worrying about."
"Such as?" Peter kept walking.
"If the formula works and this body is returned to life, what are we going to do with her? I mean, do you plan on releasing her to return to return to her life....or keep her here? That's sort of been a concern. Obviously, we could use the brain scan and erase her memory of this place and the people she sees and just drop her off somewhere She'd find her way back to wherever it is she lives." the assistant, Mark Andrews, said.
Peter stopped and regarded them silently. "First off, if this works, there's going to be no need to return her at all. Because if it works, we'll have the formula that every science corporation, every country in the world will want their hands on and this woman will be famous as being the first human to be returned to life. She'll make millions of dollars off it while we make billions. She won't have the desire to leave."
"But," Mark Andrews argued, "what if....she doesn't want to stay? I mean, what if we can't convince her to stay here?"
Mark Andrews suddenly wished he hadn't spoken that question. Because Dr. Graham now had the hardest, the coldest look he ever had on his face and his words were even colder. "If she can't be convinced, she can be forced. Otherwise, she becomes a liability. And we all know what happens to liabilities around here, don't we?"
"Um...yes sir." Mark said, now remaining quiet as they entered the large white room where they would test the formula.
In the center of the large padded white room was a long steel table that had a body lying on top of it, a sheet covering the body. After pulling a pair of latex gloves over his hands and removing his blazer, Dr. Graham walked over to it and gently removed the sheet, showing the body to their eyes. "How was this woman killed?" he asked, seeing the gunshot wound above her right breast.
"Um...a shooter names Warren Mears tried to kill a different woman and one of the bullets penetrated her heart and she died instantly." one of the other assistants replied.
"Hm." Graham sighed as he looked at the woman's face. "Such a beauty. Such a waste. Alright, let's get started. Where's the formula?" he asked, looking back. He nor any of his men had named the formula yet, but they would if it worked.
Mark Andrews stepped forward and handed his superior a syringe that held a bright green substance within it. He stepped back after Dr. Graham grabbed it and turned back towards the body. Stepping back another stepped, he looked around quickly, noticed no one was watching him and then he glanced at the cameras, knowing immediately where they were and knew that none of them were had a direct shot of him. Slowly, he raised his right hand to his ink pen, that was inside his shirt pocket and clicked the top of it once, activating the hidden camera he had. Then, he stood still and watched.
Unknown to what just happened behind him, Peter Graham slowly looked at the syringe and nodded at the amount that was inside it. He then rubbed a small amount of alcohol with a small piece of cotton over the area of the gunshot wound. He then lowered the syringe and slowly inserted the needle point into the skin above the gunshot wound. He knew through the many tests he'd performed that the formula healed the wounds that originally inflicted death. He just didn't know if it would work on a human being. Either way, he'd find out right now. He slowly pushed the substance from the syringe into the woman. He let the last of the substance inter her body before he pulled the needle out and stepped back.
"Alright, now we wait." Dr. Graham said, walking away.
**********
"Why exactly, are we having to be the ones doing this?" Xander groaned as he and Giles walked through the hospital, on the way to the wing where the Morgue was currently situated. He was nervous and a bit unnerved at being the one to bring Tara's body somewhere safely. And to top it off, Giles didn't seem to be that upset by it and that just made Xander's day.
Giles glanced at the young man he'd come to know as a pain in his ass. "Because we, if you can't figure out, are supposed to be the men of our little group. The others are needed to keep Willow's mind off this. So stop your bloody yapping and let's do this!"
Xander looked at Giles while they were moving. And he realized his original interpretation of the man was completely off base. Giles was upset by having to do this. More than that, Giles was horrified by the fact that they were doing this. Xander swallowed hard at the reality of the situation they all found themselves. Having to find the body of Willow's girlfriend was one thing, but keeping it on ice until they could find this book was something Xander would never have imagined.
The moved towards the Morgue and they were about to enter the double glass doors when they heard two angry voices speaking to each other. The two slowed and stopped outside the door to listen to what was being said.
"Sir, I promise you.....I have no idea what happened!" one of the voices said urgently.
"Michael, that body couldn't have just got up and walked away! That's just not how it works. You said you were here....about to do the autopsy and you left for what...five minutes and you came back and the body was gone!" the other voice said back.
"Yes and I told that to the Police you wanted to call. I've been over this time and time again. I was out of this place for less than five minutes and when I came back, the body was gone. I don't know how to explain it to you."
"Michael, go home! And don't come back until we have this situation resolved." the other voice ordered before Giles and Xander heard footsteps walking closer to the double glass doors. One of the doors suddenly burst inward and headed out, almost seeing Giles and Xander, but not seeing them.
The two shared a glance then turned their attention back to the other man inside the Morgue. They looked through the doors and saw him pull out a cell phone and dial a number. A moment later, they heard him speaking. "Yes, this is Jeremy Norwood at Sunnydale General. Please inform Maxwell Price that his granddaughter's body has disappeared. I'm looking into the matter and I hope to have this matter resolved within the next day or two. Tell him that. Thank you."
Xander and Giles hurried to the far end of the hall just in time because the other man, the head of the Morgue department, burst out of the double glass doors and stomped away. The two looked at each other again before hurrying into the Morgue and moving quickly. "What in the world was that about?" Xander asked.
"I don't know but I don't want to be around to find out." Giles replied as they looked through the room, trying to find anything that would tell them where Tara Maclay's body was being kept. There was an empty table near the far wall and that was where Giles guessed the missing body was. He reached down to pick up the chart that was on top of the table and he quickly looked through it, just tempted to know who the body belonged to that was causing the problems. All color drained from his face when he read through the report. "Oh god." he breathed, earning Xander's sudden attention.
"What....what is it?" Xander asked.
Giles handed him the chart and started walking away. "It's trouble." he said plainly.
Xander looked through the chart and he had much the same reaction. He closed his eyes heavily, a new complication that none of them had counted on. He walked back over towards Giles. "What does this mean?" he asked, concerned.
Giles glanced at him, then at the table. "I'm not sure."
Xander remained silent as they started heading out of the hospital. His mind kept wandering back to what he had seen on the chart. The name on the chart of the now missing deceased body was Tara Maclay.
**********
Back at the hidden military complex, Peter Graham was sitting in the small office that was set up in the lower levels of the base. He had a cigarette between his lips and he was taking a few drags off of it. Two guards were posted outside his office, but he kept his gaze locked on the surveillance camera that showed the large white room with the body lying on the table. He kept hoping for the body to twitch a finger, to move the toes, anything to show life within that vessel.
It was now just over an hour and a half and there was still nothing new. He knew that if the formula didn't work now, they would have to begin working on a stronger one. The problem would have to be in the differences that separated man from animals. The formula had worked on animals because they had tried it with more than just rabbits. He took another drag off his cigarette and blew out the smoke.
A moment later, he heard running footsteps, followed by a few knocks on his door. "Enter." Dr. Graham said.
One of his three assistants entered, not Mark Andrews. This assistant was a woman with red hair. "Sir, the equipment just registered a heartbeat." she said excitedly.
Peter Graham's eyes widened and a sudden smile lit his face as he rose and began hurrying towards the control room. He entered it and checked the read outs. The read outs reported that in less than one minute ago, there was a faint heartbeat, followed by a faint reading of a pulse registering through the woman's body. Now, as he continued to scan the read outs and the other monitors, the pulse was beginning to beat more regularly and the heartrate was beginning to get stronger and stronger.
Everyone inside the small room was beginning to get excited at the prospect that thay're ten year project was turning into a complete success. But Peter Graham knew enough about science to know that waiting a little longer was the real key. Before they could celebrate, they had to be sure the woman was really alive. "What about her brain?" he asked the neurological expert, Daniel Pepp.
"Sir, I'm getting normal brain waves on the readings. The formula's already begun pumping her blood back to the brain and her normal motor functions are returning to their normal rate." Daniel Pepp replied.
"Alright, good. The heart's getting back to a good strong pace and her pulse is strong as well. Is she awake yet?" Peter Graham asked.
"She's..." one of his assistants began, but suddenly looked back at the room.
They all did at the same moment because a sound emanated from the room. It was a sudden whimper from the lips of the woman. There were no restraints holding her down, and they all saw a right hand come up from beneath the sheets and press th palm of it to her face, groaning as she did so. And back inside the room, they all broke out in smiles. They had done it. They'd broken the gap between life and death with their formula.
Peter Graham straightened his tie as he moved towards the door that led into the room. His three assistants followed suit. A moment later, they were slowly and carefully entering the room as to not startle the woman that was now beginning to sit up on the table. There was a dazed and slightly confused look on the woman's face as she looked at them. Then, before they knew it, she was grabbing the sheet tightly and wrapping it around herself closely. And before they could utter a sound, she was off the table and moving backward, her bare back touching the far wall, where she looked frightenedly at them.
"Easy Miss Maclay, we're not here to harm you." Peter coaxed, holding his hands out.
Tara Maclay looked very frightened and she turned her eyes to Dr. Graham and to two of the other assistants before her gaze locked on the last assistant and her eyes widened at seeing the familiar face. She was about to go to him, but she saw a look on his face. She understood what it meant. Play along for now. So, Tara clutched the sheet tighter to her body and looked back at Dr. Graham. "W.....who are you?" she asked after a moment.
"My name is Peter Graham.
