by xita » Fri Jul 27, 2001 1:41 pm
by Wonko » Fri Jul 27, 2001 2:45 pm
Grr. I tell ya, Jocelyn must die. Insane slayer. Shudder.
Thanks for a great (and quick!!!! ) chapter Zahir.
------------------
Words from Wonko
The MKF Appreciation Society - All Miss Kitty all the Time!
by Ed Wood » Fri Jul 27, 2001 4:57 pm
Wonko, LOL!
by Rancour » Fri Jul 27, 2001 8:33 pm
Rancour
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Andrea: "End-of-the-world" portents, the living dead, evil arisen?
Jane: Yep. You drive?
-- Lew, "Hellmouth in Lawndale"
by Wiccagrrl » Fri Jul 27, 2001 9:44 pm
------------------
Tracy
Hear that Baby? You're my always.
by CaptMurdock » Fri Jul 27, 2001 10:38 pm
This story gets better and more unbelievable with each chapter. Fantastic.
by karenk » Sat Jul 28, 2001 2:41 am
by tommo » Sat Jul 28, 2001 11:30 am
quote:
Originally posted by CaptMurdock:
Well, there is the brink of madness, and then there is the abyss, into which the Scoobies have truly fallen.
I like that reasoning. That and the word 'abyss'.
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"She looked across at Willow, whose face was filled with light. She had never felt so calm and happy, and strong..." ~ Unseen: Door To Alternity
by Zahir » Tue Jul 31, 2001 9:32 am
First, yes I'm working on Part 19. And I pretty much have Parts 20 and 21 planned. BTW, VampTara is going to be adopting a kitten in the not-too-distant-future (although obviously, this is not Miss Kitty). Hope you like her.
Second, I do indeed now have a website for my series. Yes, I'll keep posting it here and at the WillTara list. And no, I'm not revoking the permission of those archiving Never The Twain?. Basically, I just wanted to get a bigger audience.
Anyway, here's the URL: http://www.virtue.nu/zahir/index.html (although a lot of parts are still under construction--formatting, mostly).
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"O let my name be in the Book of Love.
If it be there, I care not of
That other book Above...
Strike it out! Or write it in anew.
But let it be in the Book of Love!"
--Omar Kyam
by TaraMaclay » Tue Jul 31, 2001 8:40 pm
------------------
IM: Taramaclay69
Look, I realize that every slayer comes with a expiration mark stamped on the package.. But I want mine to be a long time from now.. Like a Cheeto.
[This message has been edited by TaraMaclay (edited July 31, 2001).]
by Zahir » Thu Aug 02, 2001 11:23 am
* * *
Xander wailed. There was no other word for it. He made a sound halfway between a sob and a scream--or maybe simply a mix of the two. Anya's heart bled hearing him. She might have cried, if she weren't so busy struggling with her insane boyfriend as he thrashed. His arms flailed in nearly every direction they could. Meanwhile his eyes bulged, frightened by a vision only he could see.
And he was stronger than Anya. Only the fact he was uncoordinated gave her a chance of keeping Xander from harming himself.
"Monkeys! Flying monkees everywhere!"
"No, Xander--no damn flying monkees!"
His only answer was another wail.
That the front door was opening, then shut, barely registered with Anya as she struggled with Xander. Until Tara reached over and held Xander down. Her vampiric strength (plus his own tiredness from exerting against Anya) did the trick. Anya wasted no time. She worked the tranquilizer in between his teeth, then put the cup of orange juice to his lips.
"Shhhh...drink...that's right....drink..."
Maybe because he was now tired, Xander didn't put up any struggle. He just swallowed, his eyes never once leaving Anya's. For a moment or two, Tara thought he resembled a beaten puppy. Quietly, he just lay there, doing nothing but stare at Anya. Once she noticed, Anya herself could hardly take her eyes off his. Tara felt something of a voyeur, seeing that look.
At last, Xander visibly relaxed. Horribly, it looked halfway between death and a puppet having its string cut. Both eyes unfocussed, every limb went slack. Tara let Xander go. After a moment, she quietly grabbed a tissue from the box on the side of the bed, using it to wipe away a touch of drool.
When she looked back at Anya, she saw a lone tear dropping from one eye. Tara wiped that away as well.
* * *
Willow felt as if everyone in the room had x-ray eyes directed right at her. The fact everyone--even fourteen-year-old Dawn--had a weapon in hand only made it worse. So she did her best to appear cheerful. On their side.
"Okay, that wasn't too hard," she offered.
Buffy nodded. She'd done the brunt of the fighting, although nearly everybody had gotten splattered in blood. Well, the Ghora had been protecting its eggs. Willow privately thought a smaller party would have had better luck. An assault by no less than five heavily armed people on the demon's nest was bound to set off every defensive instinct the creature had.
No wonder almost all the eggs had gotten crushed in the process.
Almost all. Willow had the last intact Ghora egg in her hands. She wanted to drop it, but by now she was fully convinced all her friends were insane. Their reaction to such was not something she chose to risk right now.
"I was just a tad worried," offered up Giles, "when Riley cut off the first head. It was just barely possible another would have grown in its place. Perhaps more than one."
"You didn't mention that was a possibility," noted Riley.
"Well. Didn't seem at all likely."
Dawn by now had rushed upstairs. To her room, presumably.
"Any idea where I should put this?" asked Willow, holding out the Ghora egg. It was roughly the size of a basketball. Giles immediately took it off her hands.
"Must be especially careful," he muttered, "no telling when another Ghora might show up."
"Yeah, no telling." Willow tried to sound enthusiastic.
"Hey, Wil!" Buffy looked at her best friend with a strange intensity.
"Um. What?"
"Thanks. For doing this. It means a whole lot to Dawn and me."
"Okay, but you see, I haven't actually done anything yet..."
"Just think of the possibilities this offers up." Buffy spoke as if Willow hadn't said anything.
"Possibilities?"
"Aren't they obvious?" asked Riley. He looked jazzed. Willow shrugged in puzzlement.
"Kendra," said Buffy, as if that explained everything. Which, after a moment, Willow realized it did. To her horror.
"You want me to resurrect Kendra?" Breathe, Willow said to herself quietly. Breathe!
"Not just her!" Oh no. "In theory we can bring back all the Slayers. And why should we stop with them? Think, Willow, about all the people we've lost. Jesse. Larry. Forrest."
"Jenny," said Giles, voice low.
Buffy looked at Giles fondly. She reached out and touched his hand. "Yeah," she said quietly, "Jenny." Then Buffy looked right at Willow. "You do see now, don't you? If this works, how much good we can do?" She looked so earnest.
Willow felt so terrified. And she didn't dare show it. "That kinda depends, doesn't it?" she offered weakly.
The Slayer blinked. "On what?"
"On whether it works, for one thing! Then, you know, to do this again we need to go get some more of those Ghora eggs! Major operation there, I think! I mean, even finding those things is gonna take plenty of time and effort! Yessir--lots of effort!" She shut up as Buffy stood and got practically nose-to-nose.
"I believe in you, Wil."
"Th--th-thanks."
Dawn came bounding down the stairs. She had large cooking bowl in her arms, full of stuff. Under one arm was a picture of her mother. "We have ingredients!" Willow couldn't decide if her grin was madness or typical puberty-driven energy. Or both.
"Goody," Willow said.
* * *
"We have to do something," Anya said wearily.
"I know. But what? Joculatrix is a Moon Demon. If we kill her, then her heart can cure Xander's insanity as well as Warren's. Maybe some other people's too. Guess that depends on how much of the heart needs to be eaten." Tara looked at her hostess inquiringly. Anya thought about it for a moment.
"One good bite-sized chunk should do it," she offered.
"Then we have to figure out if she's told Glory about Dawn being the Key. She certainly was talking to Ben--and we know he's somehow involved with Glory. I wish I knew how."
"Me too," agreed Anya. "But if we don't kill Joculatrix, doesn't that increase the odds she'll tell Glory?"
Tara thought about that one for a few moments. "Yes," she finally said. "Where's April? She's the only one who can get close to a Moon Demon without going crazy."
"I don't know. She was supposed to be here to help me with Xander." There wasn't nearly as much spit and fire in Anya's voice as Tara was used to hearing. Even her complaints lacked the energy they usually had. More evidence, if such were needed, of how draining her taking care of Xander had been. Proof, too, of how much he meant to her. "Souped up Barbie Doll," she grumbled, "what's the use of having superstrength if you don't use it to help out?"
April walked in the front door. Well, thought Tara, maybe the gods have a sense of humor after all. Or timing, anyway. The pretty robot had a neat package in hand, roughly the size of a shoe box. She smiled--but then, April almost always smiled.
"Shoes?" growled Anya. "You were shopping?" Exhausted as she was, Anya clearly was building up towards an explosion.
"Hello, Anya," replied April. "No, I have not been shopping. If I had, I would have asked if you wanted me to get you something." Of course, she spoke with such a precise sincerity it seemed fake. In fact, her sincerity was utterly real. April herself was fake. Or, at least, artificial. Tara wasn't sure what the precise difference was.
"Then..." sputtered Anya, "what have you got there?" She pointed at the box.
"Jocelyn's heart," the robot said cheerfully.
"Say what?" asked Tara.
April repeated herself. "Jocelyn's heart." She even handed it to Tara--who could indeed detect the distinct coppery scent of blood. Carefully, she put the box on the kitchen counter and opened it. Inside was...something...wrapped in butcher's paper.
"Looks about the right size," offered Anya, pearing over Tara's shoulder.
"But--what about the rest of her?" They looked at April.
"I put her body in a cave near the campus. There were plenty of rats." Her smile was unaffected by this, or its implications. Tara was impressed. She shouldn't have been, she realized. Computers (and that's what April was, really) were nothing if not practical. Or so she'd been given to understand.
"Just to make sure I understand," began Anya, "you did kill Joculatrix--or, Jocelyn. Right?"
"Yes, I killed her."
"How?"
"By breaking the bones of her upper vertebrae, severing her spine from the cerebellum." Again, the cheerful smile. Tara felt a little one of her own growing. "Then I used a knife to remove her heart, hid her body, and brought the heart back here so you can use it to help Warren."
"Wow." Anya shared a look with Tara. "And she didn't even muss up her nails." Tara looked. Anya was right.
"A good girlfriend is a clean girlfriend," April recited.
"For the record," said Tara, "I think you make a terrific girlfriend."
"Thank you. But I am Warren's girlfriend, Tara. So I cannot be yours."
With a shrug, Tara smiled. "I prefer redheads, anyway." She looked back at Anya. This was her apartment, after all. "So..."
Anya was already checking a small bookshelf next to the refridgerator. "I think there's a recipe for stew in one of these..."
TO BE CONTINUED
------------------
"O let my name be in the Book of Love.
If it be there, I care not of
That other book Above...
Strike it out! Or write it in anew.
But let it be in the Book of Love!"
--Omar Kyam
by Halcyon » Thu Aug 02, 2001 11:49 am
Hehe, April the efficient robot.
by geekgod » Thu Aug 02, 2001 11:56 am
"But I am Warren's girlfriend, Tara. So I cannot be yours."
"I prefer redheads, anyway."
------------------
willow: "i don't get wild, wild on me equals 'spaz'"
"That's my girl"
by Wonko » Thu Aug 02, 2001 11:57 am
Sorry, just had to run to the bathroom. Does this mean Buffy etc. will go back to normal? Or will they need to eat some of the demon heart stew too?
Thanks Zahir.
------------------
Words from Wonko
The MKF Appreciation Society - All Miss Kitty all the Time!
by tommo » Thu Aug 02, 2001 4:21 pm
------------------
"She looked across at Willow, whose face was filled with light. She had never felt so calm and happy, and strong..." ~ Unseen: Door To Alternity
by TwiLightJoy » Thu Aug 02, 2001 10:07 pm
~Joy
by tommo » Fri Aug 03, 2001 5:41 am
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"She looked across at Willow, whose face was filled with light. She had never felt so calm and happy, and strong..." ~ Unseen: Door To Alternity
by Zahir » Thu Aug 09, 2001 1:47 pm
* * *
"So how long do we wait?" asked Riley.
Giles shrugged. "As long as it takes, I suppose."
"Any ideas on how long that'll be?" This from Buffy. Her sister, curled up beside her on the coach, asked the same question with her eyes.
"Uh...well...not long." He said this with such certitude Willow knew he was lying. It didn't help that all of them now looked at her.
"I don't know! I've never raised the dead before! How long has it been?"
Riley checked his watch. "Nearly an hour."
Willow still felt everyone was looking at her. She continued to wait. And worry.
* * *
Tara was a little surprised to find out Anya could cook. Not with any great skill, as it turned out, but adequately. She also had help, in the form of April who (predictably) was programmed with all the skills of a master chef. It took them nearly an hour to prepare the meat, the herbs and vegetables, then to simmer them in a mushroom and wine sauce.
"The stew really should simmer for another hour," advised April as Anya readied a small bowl.
"Fine," said Anya. "I'll remember that when I want stew to just taste good. Right now, I want Xander back." And with that she carried the cupfull of stew into the bedroom. Tara and April followed.
Xander sat, eyes unfocussed, atop the bed he and Anya shared. He was humming a tune, or maybe two--he seemed to shift back and forth randomly. Anya took a seat in front of him.
"Xander?" Her voice sounded unusually childlike. It was almost startling. But as Tara considered how she herself reacted to Willow, she wasn't surprised.
"Honey?" Anya tried to get Xander's attention. He lifted his head, looking at her with something like pleasure. At least he stopped humming and a tiny smile creased his face. Just a shadow of one, but real. Anya smiled in return and used a fork to pick up a steaming slice of meat from the stew. "C'mon, Xander. Num num. Really." For a moment it looked as if Xander couldn't remember how to open his mouth. Then his jaw moved and he managed to aim his mouth at the fork. He chewed slowly, eyes never leaving Anya's, as if looking for approval. Or maybe she had become his anchor in a world that made no sense. Tara hoped never to find out. Chewing took longer than normal, but at last he swallowed.
"Good," said Anya. "Here, have another." Again, the same routine, like feeding a child--vaguely hideous for an adult. Some gravy remained on his lips, though. With practiced skill, Anya made a gesture and Xander licked his lips. She nodded approval. And he nodded back.
"Not right." It was the first words out of Xander's mouth since taking his meds.
"What's wrong Xander?" Anya put the next forkfull down.
"Can't be right," he said, looking around the room. His sunken eyes took in Tara, then April, then Tara again and one more time at April. "Can't be," he muttered.
They all waited.
"Anya?" He almost whispered, then took time to swallow some morsel still in his mouth. "Anya," he asked when done.
"Yes, Xander?"
"Am I...crazy?" His eyes looked unusually bright. Feverish, even. "Or...is Britney Spears really in your apartment?"
* * *
Okay, she wasn't imagining it. Willow knew everybody was looking at her. Staring, really. Hard. After two and a half hours, there was still no sign of the resurrected Joyce. She had performed the ritual. They were going to blame her. No, were already doing so.
When the phone rang, Willow felt relief. Dawn was the one who reached it, picking up the receiver. "Hello?" she said, impatiently. "Oh, okay Anya." She looked at Willow. "For you."
She took the phone with some feeling of relief. "Hi?"
"Good. Listen. You need to get everybody and go to the cemetary."
"The cemetary? Which one?" Out of the corner of her eye, Willow noted Buffy and the others perk up.
"I don't know."
"Anya--not making a lot of sense."
Over the phone, she heard the receiver change hands. The next voice she heard was a man's. "Willow?"
Willow felt her jaw drop, and her eyes pop. "Xander?" All around her, alertness shot up as everyone realized to whom she was speaking.
"Yeah, I'm better. Lots."
"But, but how? And for that matter, when?"
"Just now." He sounded very matter-of-fact. "As for how--well, lets just say that can wait. What can't is getting everybody to the Restful Acres cemetary as soon as possible, maybe sooner."
"You haven't told me why, though."
Xander paused. His voice had a different timbre in his voice as he answered this time. "I can't tell you how I know this. Because, truth is, I don't really understand. But this much is certain--that place is calling me for some reason. And Wil--its calling for help."
"Uh, how much has Anya told you about what's been going on?" In Willow's mind, a terrible thought had taken root.
"I know all about the Moon Demon."
"No, that's not what I mean. Did...did Anya tell you what happened with Buffy's mom?" Every single person in the room was staring at Willow again, but this time more thoughtfully, less maniacally. "Xander," she said slowly, "that's where she's buried."
Silence. Willow strained to even hear Xander breathe. Nothing. Then, one word. "Hurry."
* * *
All in all, Tara was impressed with how quickly Xander was coping. Over one month of insanity had left him out of touch with all sorts of events. Joyce Summers' death clearly hit him like a cannonball. And finding a Britney Spears-lookalike robot responsible for his recovery by cutting out and feeding him the heart of a Moon Demon was at the very least confusing. Plus learning he now had to trust a vampire, one who was sleeping with his oldest friend, made for a lot to handle. Tara suspected he was blinking rather more than needed. But all in all, his reaction to all this had been impressively calm.
Even more impressive--and unexpected--was the strange certaintity he had something was Terribly Wrong at the cemetary. She found herself believing him. Hence she and Anya joined him in heading there. Fortunately, he could drive. Which helped in terms of speed.
"So what you're saying is that Buffy and Riley and Giles are all crazy?"
"Pretty much" agreed Anya.
"Okay." Xander sounded skeptical.
"Dawn, too."
"They haven't been catatonic or raving at all," added Tara, "but they have behaved strangely. Extremely so."
"Well, sounds like they've been through a lot. I mean, a lot! Couldn't it just be stress?"
Anya shook her head. "Nope. It was a Moon Demon. Tara felt it too."
"True," said Tara. "At one point I nearly set fire to a bar, just out of paranoia."
"No offense, Tara, but you are a vampire."
"But not a pyromaniac." Xander had to nod at this. He really was a bright person, despite the sometimes-silly demeanor.
"If she wasn't a Moon Demon," pointed out Anya, "then eating her heart wouldn't have cured you."
Xander looked a little sick. "Yeah. Thanks for reminding me."
"You're welcome," replied Anya happily, hugging his arm, clearly oblivious to his discomfort but wildly happy to have him back. Tara quietly smiled at the sight. Xander himself relaxed slightly at Anya's touch. But he didn't slow down in his driving.
The sign at the graveyard was wrought-iron, a fairly wide arch above a two-laned road. Xander pulled in and parked as close as he could to the cemetary's center, in a circular area designed for funerals. All three of them popped out, Tara drawing her sword. Xander took the lead, headed straight for the northwest corner. Neither Tara nor Anya mentioned that was where Joyce Summers had been buried. They also didn't ask how he knew to go there. Tara in particular paid attention to every shadow, every sound.
Mrs. Summers' grave was simple. A plain headstone above plain grass, with flowers laid in memory by various visitors. Tara herself had left a bouquet of white roses the previous night. Now, those roses were scattered, along with the remnants of other flowers. Likewise, the grass was ripped up, revealing a gaping maw in the earth.
Slowly, the three of them approached. Even Tara found it uneasy looking directly into the violated grave. The casket lay open. And empty.
"Okay, this is the opposite of good," muttered Xander.
Tara hopped down into the casket. "Ah...Tara...?" Xander began.
"We need to find out something." She examined the lid and interior. Unlike the others, she didn't need a flashlight. "This was opened from the outside."
"Not exactly a surprise," offered Xander.
"But," Tara added, "the lining has been torn. By someone lying inside the coffin." She looked up at the couple standing above her.
"So what're you saying?" Xander asked after a moment, more than a little hesitant. Anya beside him looked less puzzled, but only slightly less upset.
"Mrs. Summers. She wasn't dead anymore when somebody dug her out."
It was Buffy's voice--icecold and furious--that replied. "And what do you know about that, I wonder?" Xander and Anya looked away from the grave, starting at the sound of the Slayer's voice.
"Hey!" said Anya. "This is how we found your mother's grave!"
"She's right, Buffy," offered Xander.
With a powerful leap, Tara reached ground level. She landed to see Buffy, Riley and Giles all armed to the teeth less than forty feet away. Dawn and lovely Willow were bringing up the rear. Tara deliberately sheathed her sword. What was needed right now--desperately--was listening and thinking, not fighting. She instantly resolved to go one step further. The Slayer was already approaching, stake in hand. Tara held up her gloved hands. As slowly as she dared, she pulled off the right glove, then removed the Ring of Amara. Everyone here knew that as long as she wore it, neither stake nor sunlight nor pretty much anything else could physically harm her. Deliberately, she tossed it to Buffy.
That certainly got her attention. Buffy stopped. She waited, long enough for Tara to pull off her other glove, revealing no rings on either hand. Now she knew--even if the one she'd tossed was a copy, Tara was not wearing the Ring of Amara. And she'd just made sure the Slayer knew it.
"I don't know what you're trying to pull," began Buffy.
"Never mind about me," interrupted Tara. "You need to find out what happened to your mother."
"She's gone, right?" said Dawn to Willow. "That means it worked?"
"Maybe..." said Willow.
"What worked?" asked Tara, suddenly alarmed.
"The resurrection spell," answered Willow. "Buffy and the others, they made me perform a spell to bring Mrs. Summers back."
"Made?" Buffy looked outraged. "We made you? Made you?"
"You seemed to think it a good idea at the time," added Giles.
"I thought not disagreeing with all of you was a good idea! None of you saw the looks in your eyes!"
Nobody said anything for the longest time. Tara recognized a standoff when she saw one--conflicting desires, plans, options all leading to a tension-laden pause where no one did anything. She herself didn't dare be the one to break it. Only Anya or Willow really were wiling to listen to anything she might say. Waiting was the only option Tara had.
Xander finally broke the silence. "Buffy, you wanted to use magic to bring your Mom back to life?"
"And why not?"
"Then you insisted Willow help?"
"I asked! That's all--asked?"
"Let me guess--you asked in full Slayer mode, am I right? As in I'm-asking-but-this-is-really-an-order?"
Buffy's face went still. Dangerously. "I. Don't. Do. That."
"HA!" Everyone glanced at Anya. "Sorry. I just couldn't help it." She didn't look sorry.
"You know, Buffy," ventured Riley after a moment, "you do lean kinda hard on folks sometimes."
"That doesn't mean I made Willow do anything she didn't want to," huffed Buffy.
"She says you did," he pointed out. "Wouldn't she know? Better than you?"
Now Buffy turned to Willow. It actually hurt Tara to see how Willow reacted as if she'd been slapped. But for all their sakes, she didn't dare intervene. She repeated that thought to herself like a mantra.
"You didn't want to bring my mother back to me?" whispered Buffy.
"I didn't want to raise the dead," said Willow. "But the way you were acting, I was afraid not to."
"Afraid of what?" She took a step towards Willow, who flinched and stepped back. "Of what?" Then, she noticed what had just happened. Her face softened, clearly upset. "Of me?"
Silence stretched again. This time it seemed to last even longer. After a minute or two, or maybe forty, Buffy shifted weight. She dropped the wooden stake in her hand. Her eyes shot between Willow, then Dawn (looking paler than ever), then nearly everyone else. But she did nothing but look.
Riley, dropping his battle axe, went to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Soon, the sound of muffled sobs were heard coming from his chest, where Buffy had buried her face. Gently Riley stroked her hair.
Tara and Willow met each others' eyes, understanding too well.
TO BE CONTINUED
------------------
"O let my name be in the Book of Love.
If it be there, I care not of
That other book Above...
Strike it out! Or write it in anew.
But let it be in the Book of Love!"
--Omar Kyam
by Wonko » Thu Aug 09, 2001 3:49 pm
Did Anya bring the leftover stew just in case?
A great chapter Zahir. I got quite emotional when Xander was cured. But God, you've gotta post the next chapter soon! Where the hell is Joyce?
Damn, I'm going to be worrying about this all week.
------------------
Words from Wonko
The MKF Appreciation Society - All Miss Kitty all the Time!
by Scout » Thu Aug 09, 2001 7:01 pm
Can't wait for more!
by tommo » Fri Aug 10, 2001 8:23 am
Isn't it cemetery? Have I said that before?
------------------
"She looked across at Willow, whose face was filled with light. She had never felt so calm and happy, and strong..." ~ Unseen: Door To Alternity
by Zahir » Sat Aug 11, 2001 12:01 pm
This is a mean thing to tease everybody with, but...you have all the clues you need right now to figure out where Joyce is.
------------------
"O let my name be in the Book of Love.
If it be there, I care not of
That other book Above...
Strike it out! Or write it in anew.
But let it be in the Book of Love!"
--Omar Kyam
by Wonko » Sun Aug 12, 2001 4:52 pm
Just write Speculation isn't anywhere near as good as reading your great chapters.
PS - Anyone who sees this post going in and thinks it's a new installment....HA!!!
------------------
Words from Wonko
The MKF Appreciation Society - All Miss Kitty all the Time!
[This message has been edited by Wonko (edited August 12, 2001).]
by WillowLikeWhoa » Sun Aug 12, 2001 9:27 pm
This is really good.
~Michelle~
by AngelusUK » Mon Aug 13, 2001 9:26 am
I so love this, please write more and soon.
------------------
Amber Fan
Willow "Thats fine I don't need to be snuggled"
Tara "Vixen"
AIM Soul Angelus5534
by Zahir » Mon Aug 13, 2001 4:00 pm
* * *
Life, Willow pondered, was aided a surprising amount by lots and lots of little rituals. They gave people shape, she decided. And some kind of purpose. Not really big, grand purpose, of course. At least not the little rituals. But purpose, all the same. Like dinner.
Willow decided Xander was showing uncommon sense in having everybody sit down at the Summers dinner table and share a meal. It was very civilized. And it reminded everybody to be civilized--something she thought her friends had lost track of lately. She could understand why, sympathise even. But all in all, it was better when they remembered. Dawn looked better seated in her regular chair, between Giles and Buffy. The Slayer herself seemed calmer. Riley next to her helped, she guessed. Willow sat on the other side, with Anya and Xander.
And Tara. Joyce's seat at the head of the table remained empty.
The only thing she wasn't quite sure of was having Anya serve everybody dinner--her own effort. No, Willow thought, she shouldn't complain. Anya's stew wasn't bad, really. Maybe a bit gamey, but better than cafeteria food by any measure. Besides, it felt good to just sit down with everybody and talk.
Not that Xander was letting anybody do anything until they did.
"Buffy," said Willow, "do you still want me to go around raising more dead people?"
"Nope." Buffy smiled a little at Willow's obvious relief. "Guess that wasn't the brightest notion ever."
"Yes, well..." began Giles, but he didn't finish. Just took another bite of stew.
"Still," began Riley, "having a love affair with a vampire." Although critical, his expression was mild. He questioned her. But he didn't condemn.
Willow shrugged. "She saved you life. My life. Buffy's life. Dawn's life. I think she's earned some trust from all of us."
"Trusting her is one thing," said Giles. "Accepting your relationship with a demon is another." He didn't say this with anger, though.
Neither did Tara reply with anger. "Don't you trust Willow?" Which brought on some more silence. At least this time the silence wasn't so much angry as embarassed. For a full minute or more no one said a thing.
"How come you're all better now?" Dawn asked.
Xander coughed. "I'll tell you later." Anya started to open her mouth, but Xander stopped her with a shake of his head. "Later" he repeated firmly. Dawn furrowed her brow, annoyed at the eternal adult conspiracy to keep her uninformed. Willow remembered it well. Interestingly, she caught her sneaking a peak at Tara--who didn't actually wink back. Not quite, anyway. One more secret ally on our side, thought Willow to herself.
"Can we agree on a truce for now? At least in regards to me?" Tara directed this directly at Buffy, who reluctantly nodded. "Good. Because I need to know--where did you find out how to raise your mother?"
Buffy waited a beat before answering. "What, you're against coming back from the dead?"
"I'm a vampire, not a hypocrite. From what I've read, those magics tend to get mixed results, but if you're willing to take the risk, fine."
"So what's with the third degree?"
Tara's eyebrows rose slightly. "Somebody knew to dig her up. All of you were together. Who else knew you were going to try?"
Willow enjoyed Buffy's reaction just a little too much. She had the same look Willow had seen on dozens of students in years-worth of classes--usually right after confidently giving an answer that turned out nowhere in the vicinity of correct. Kinda like getting a psychological tennis ball right between the eyes.
"Oh."
* * *
An hour and a half later, Tara was glancing over her personal occult library. "I give up."
"No, don't do that," Willow urged her from the desk on the other side of the subterranean room. "The answer's here. Well, it might be."
Tara shook her head. "Buffy didn't know enough about this Doc person for me to do much more than guess what he is. I saw him visiting Glory, so odds are he isn't human, but that's all."
"Maybe they'll find somthing at his place." She smiled hopefully. Riley and Buffy had loaded up on weapons before heading to the place where she'd met Doc. Upon learning he'd been hanging around Glory's minions, Buffy had been especially eager. Giles, Xander and Anya wer researching over at the Magic Shoppe. The sun would be up fairly soon, so Tara headed here. Willow had insisted on coming with, and despite some odd looks, no one said anything. Nice to know something had been salvaged from the recent disasters.
"If I were him, I'd've already relocated. He's got to realize she'll suspect him."
Willow wilted a little at this line of reasoning. But she didn't argue. Looking at her, Tara found herself drawn to the lovely witch's side. She quietly stroked her cheek, the warmth tingling in Tara's fingers. "I'm sorry."
"No, don't." Her hand came up, pressing Tara's and leaning into it. "I should be looking at the bright side."
"Xander's sane again."
"Yeah..."
"And we know more about Glory now."
"No denying that." The slightest of piercing smiles graced Willow's lips. "Then there's the bestest news so far."
My heart didn't really skip a beat, thought Tara to herself. After all, it doesn't beat. Feels like it did, though. "You mean," she asked, "now April will get Warren back?"
Willow blinked. "She will? How?"
Goddess. "We...found a cure for the madness Glory inflicts. But there wasn't enough for all her victims."
"Really!" Now her eyes were getting big again. And her jaw dropped. The whole picture was too, too adorable. "Can you make more?"
"No. One of the ingredients was...is...really, really rare."
"Oh. Too bad."
"Actually, that's good news."
Her puzzled expression was interrupted by a movement from the corner of the room. Both of them turned and saw the source. Only Tara was not surprised. Padding out from behind a bookcase was a black and tan kitten, nearly eleven weeks old. Huge green eyes framed by big pointed ears and a pink nose took in the scene. Willow's expression was transformed, to Tara's delight. She'd hoped, believed Willow would like this revelation.
"Who's this?" From her voice, Willow's reaction was all Tara could have hoped.
"My kitty." Reaching down, Tara twitched her fingers and the kitten came over to receive the scratch she'd learned to expect. "Not a familiar, you understand. Just a pet." A pet who acquieced to being picked up and deposited on the desk. Sensing a cat person, she took a step towards Willow and cocked her head. The tiny yelp she made was deliberately plaintive.
Willow began petting her, of course. "Have you named her?"
"Yes. For sentimental reasons."
"What sentimental reasons?" Even entranced as she was by the furry sphere of cuteness, Willow clearly wanted to know more about Tara's past. This fact made Tara want to explain all she could.
"My dad--he wouldn't let me have a kitten growing up. Called them the devil's beasts. But there was a girl at school--a very special friend...."
"A girlfriend?"
"No. But I wouldn't have minded if she had been. I had an awesome crush on her. And she let me play with her cat."
"Soooooo?" By now the kitten was busy, having successfully stalked and captured Willow's hand. Now her forepaws held it firmly while her hindlegs went through the motions of disembowelling her prey. She even gnawed at the young woman's wrist with tiny, pin-like teeth.
"So--I named my kitten after her. My first real crush. Never even got to kiss her."
"But you thought about it?"
"Every day for over a year. Then she moved away. And I cried for a solid week. Dad thought--I never knew what he thought. But my brother stopped picking on me for a couple of months after that."
Slowly, Willow reached out and turned Tara's chin to face her. The two of them looked at each other for a long moment. "What was her name?" Willow whispered.
Tara leaned forward, brushed her lips against those of her love. She spoke in a low voice, so low Willow would not have heard her if she'd been even another inch away.
"Xita," said Tara. "My kitty is named Xita."
"And you never got to kiss her?"
"No."
"Well," breathed Willow, "that's probably just as well." She grinned. "I get jealous."
Tara didn't have anything to say to that. Neither did Willow. For several hours.
* * *
"Xander?"
"Yeah, Wil?"
"Wanna stop staring at my neck?"
From the driver's seat, Xnader chuckled. He also had the good grace to look embarassed. A little, anyway. "C'mon, Wil. Its a time honored tradition--checking out your female friends for hickies after a date."
"I don't have any hickies thank-you-very-much."
"That's not what I heard."
Willow hit him. Not hard, just playful punch in the arm--to which he responded by mock screaming. They continued on for a few minutes before she spoke up again. "Aren't you going to ask?"
"Ask what?
"How could I get involved with Tara? Everybody else keeps asking." She said this as lightly as she could manage.
"Nah, I'm too dazzled with the thought of chick-on-chick action to give it much thought." Which earned him another hit. "Hey!"
"Deserved it."
"Seriously," Xander said after a moment, "my girlfriend used to be demon. Your girlfriend still is one. I figure we've got the makings of one wacky self-help group here. Given this is Sunnydale, we should do a booming business. And besides--are you happy."
"Yes." Willow heard the whistful surprise in her own voice saying it.
"Good enough for me."
At that, Willow felt a grin coming. She let it arrive, and despite everything enjoyed the ride all the way to the Magic Shoppe. Privately, she noted a major shift in her internal clock on the way. Ever since finding out about vampires and the hellmouth and everything, dusk had been a scary time. No longer. The setting sun now meant Tara could go out without fear of burning. Go out and come to her. Willow's grin broadened. She watched the horizon go red and sky an ever darker blue. Each color so entranced her she didn't even notice when Xander parked.
When she finally did notice, she also noted the look of woried shock on Xander's face. Looking in the direction he was staring soon revealed the reason.
"Oh my god," said Xander.
* * *
"I will never tell you anything! My lips are sealed in the service of my god! You cannot make me talk no matter what you threaten!"
"Shut up!" Tara's general good mood was evaporating as the robed minion of Glory's went babbling on about how silent he was going to be. Not, she reflected, a situation without some irony. But very, very annoying. "You haven't stopped talking since I nabbed you."
For some reason this penetrated the minion's brain. His beady little eyes blinked in his withered, unhuman face. Now he took a quick look around the alleyway. It was, of course, empty. At least for now. Tara wasn't stupid enough to swipe one of these creatures and interrogate it in an alley where people were likely to wander across them.
"Well..." the minion began, "I won't say anything that will impede the mighty Glorificus!"
"Bet?"
"You have no means that could make me say one word that might so much as inconvenience...AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Tara had ripped half of one overlong, pointed ear from his head and tossed it to the ground. "I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING!"
"About time," Tara mumbled under her breath. Before she could say anything else, though, a familiar sound echoed slightly behind her. A not unpleasant sound in and of itself, but one that could hardly mean anything good in current circumstances. Especially since the sound was followed two more identical to it--the sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath.
No time to waste. Using all her vampiric strength, Tara spun and tossed the minion towards whoever-it-was behind her. Three tall, muscular men in chain mail stood there. The nearest wasted no time but gutted the minion in midair.
"Just when he was bout to say something useful."
"His death does not matter, Creature of Evil" said the Knight in the lead. He was the shortest of them, with a neatly trimmed beard. The other two were white, while he was black. "None of the Beast's minions shall be given succor."
"And you couldn't wait five mintues to see if he knew anything handy first?"
"Plots among the Beast's minions for her favor are no concern to us." All three of the Knights began to advance.
"Who're you calling a minion?" Tara drew her own sword. "I was trying to interfere with Glory's plans. Not that you're likely to care." Each continued to advance, forming a circle. "Thought not. I could guess from your choice of weaponry the idea of actually thinking before attacking is too advanced for you to manage."
"Think not to deceive us, Demon."
"Perish the thought," replied Tara. Self-righteous idiots. For a moment she felt a wave of deja vu and remembered her family. Well, at least no one could complain if she fed once these three were disposed of. Looking at how expertly they were handling their swords, she amended her thoughts to "if."
Just before any of them could strike the first blow, the middle Knight suddenly collapsed as if struck from behind. Which, it turned out, he had been. The striker stood--or rather posed--for all to see. She almost negligently picked up the fallen Knight's sword. Hefting it, she tested its weight and balance.
"Wicked," noted Faith. "I think I'll keep it."
TO BE CONTINUED
------------------
"O let my name be in the Book of Love.
If it be there, I care not of
That other book Above...
Strike it out! Or write it in anew.
But let it be in the Book of Love!"
--Omar Kyam
by FrenchRose » Mon Aug 13, 2001 6:48 pm
Rose, happy reader.
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