------------------
"The hardest to learn is the least complicated" - Emily Saliers (Indigo Girls)
by mollyig » Thu Aug 30, 2001 9:52 am
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"The hardest to learn is the least complicated" - Emily Saliers (Indigo Girls)
by nika » Thu Aug 30, 2001 10:10 am
by tommo » Thu Aug 30, 2001 1:05 pm
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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 TwiLightJoy » Thu Aug 30, 2001 2:39 pm
~Joy
by Scout » Thu Aug 30, 2001 3:32 pm
Boy, I've really missed this story. Great to see it back!
by nika » Fri Aug 31, 2001 6:19 am
by WiccanBex » Fri Aug 31, 2001 3:57 pm
i've only just read this fic - the whole thing - from the beginning. i'm catching up on a lotta fanfic... and i really like this...
i was sceptical about tara being a vampire... but it's written really well
by xita » Sat Sep 01, 2001 1:55 pm
And the kitty oh dear god that greedy kitty hehe
by Zahir* » Thu Sep 13, 2001 12:00 am
TITLE: Never The Twain? (Part 25)
AUTHOR: Zahir (zahir@brainlink.com)
WEBSITE: http://www.virtue.nu/zahir
FEEDBACK: Well, yeah!
ARCHIVING: Just ask is all.
SYNOPSIS: This is an alternate history in which Willow never completed the Soul Restoration Spell. Of all the changes that flow from that one, the biggest is that Tara is a vampire. Oh, and Faith never worked for the Mayor.
COUPLES: W/T, X/Ay, B/R
RATING: PG-13
SPOILERS: Up through and including "Forever" as well as some stuff from "Angel" and maybe a detail or two from "Weight of the World."
DISCLAIMERS: The toys I'm playing with belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I promise not to make money off them and to put them back none the worse for wear. My hope is that they won't sue me. Besides, I don't own much. Honest.
* * *
The world throbbed.
Oh no. That wasn't the world. Just seemed like it because all the pain and throbbing the entire world was supposed to contain had somehow ended up inside her head. How had that happened?
"Willow?"
And now Anya was screaming at her. Okay, whispering. But it felt like screaming.
"Willow?"
"Stop...just...quiet, okay?" Every word out of her own lips echoed against Willow's skull. She opened her eyes to blinding light. Not enough to see much, but still--blinding. Somehow, she lifted all forty tons of her hand, reaching her face in just over seven hours. Or half a second. She wasn't sure there was a difference right now. Sticky. Her hand was sticky now. With deep red stuff.
Blood.
"Willow...?" Anya ventured again, at what must be the lowest decibel level possible for anything human. "You need to wake up."
Damn. Why did that have to be true? But it was. She began to move her limbs, which set off a dozen new explosions behind her eyes and made her groan. Hands--Anya's presumbably--helped her sit up. The impulse to vomit was great, but controllable. Barely. No more teleportation spells, Willow vowed. She peered around the dim room. "Doc" she asked?
"Gone. Went poof. Too late to keep him from telling about Dawn, as it turns out, but the spell worked just fine."
"Uh...thanks."
"What about Dawn?" said a woman's voice from the shadows. It was a pleasant contralto, kindly in tone. But there was something in the sound of that voice Willow didn't like. A liquid something. She knew that voice, had known it for years. Nothing liquid had belonged to it before. Of course, that voice's owner hadn't died before then. She gazed at the direction of the voice--managing to spot a blurry shape in the shadows.
"Mrs. Summers? Is that you?"
"Why...yes. I believe so." She remained seated on what Willow presumed was a sofa. Probably fairly beaten up if it matched the rest of the furniture. "Do I know you?" The shape of the head tilted.
"Yeah. Willow. Remember?"
The silence that followed set off all sorts of tiny alarms in Willow. A quick look at Anya set off some more--she looked queasy. Anya wasn't one to turn queasy. "Wil. Low." Joyce Summers voice repeated. "Willow. Are you my daughter?"
"No! But...she and I are friends. Best friends!" Willow found herself rapidly, a little desperately, nurturing a hope that the only thing wrong with the resurrected Mrs. Summers was a touch of amnesia.
Just a shade too slow, the shadowy figure turned to Anya. "Then you're my daughter?"
"Sorry," Anya shook her head.
"No?"
"Positive."
"Oh. Dear." But now the figure lapsed into another silence. Willow stood up. It still set her brain sloshing around inside her skull cavity but by gritting her teeth she managed. She took a couple of unsteady steps to the door. Towards the light switch. As her hand reached for it, Anya's voice piped up.
"You might not want to do that."
Willow hesitated. She suspected Anya was right. But there was an awful decision that might have to be made, and she'd have to make it. The switch moved, flooding the little office with light. Then Willow turned around.
It was the eyes that were the worst. Joyce Summers had had very nice eyes--kind, clear, intelligent. These were unfocussed, but worse, they were nearly colorless. Each iris was grey, a pale grey that seemed almost white. A latticework of red veins surrounded them, while each pupil was no more than a tiny black pinprick. On closer observation, though, her skin wasn't much better. Pale lips were the most noticeable, making the polite smile she aimed now at Willow somehow ghastly. Oh yeah, the teeth. Yellow. Or brown? No, both.
"Do you know where my daughter can be found" the shape of Joyce Summers asked? Willow just kept staring. Against her will, but without pause. Very faint mottling marred the surface. Right now she was as pale as Tare, but vampires don't have bruise-like purple splotches. That liquid quality in her voice hadn't really grown worse, had it? "I know she's the key to...something. That's what I told my doctor."
Anya and Willow exchanged a look.
* * *
At the hospital, Tara and Oz escorted Dawn into the Waiting Area. They were met by Buffy, Giles, Riley and Xander.
"How's Faith?" asked Oz.
"Bad," answered Buffy in a flat voice. "They're going over her now. She's got broken bones, and probably a concussion." Her voice cracked a little at this last. Riley quietly took her hand and squeezed. She took a deep breath before going on. "But she'll be alright. She's a slayer. We're tough. Any word from Anya and Willow?"
"Not yet," said Tara.
"What about Mom?" said Dawn in a small voice.
Buffy looked at her sister. "No sign of her at Glory's." The two of them hugged.
Giles coughed after a few moments, breaking the awkward silence. "So Tara," he said, "you seem fully recovered."
"Nearly," Tara agreed. "And a good thing, too. You're likely to be needing me. Is there any word from Gunn or Wesley?"
"Actually, they checked in a little while ago," said Riley. "Got the Knights of Byzantium staked out, but nothing further to report."
"Gotta love three-sided apocalyptic battles," muttered Xander. "I mean, it just gets too easy good guys versus bad guys." Which earned him a little smile from both Buffy and Dawn.
Now a familiar-looking Doctor approached them all. Tara felt every sense go alert as she recognized him. Ben. He looked very concerned, terribly sincere, but Tara knew he was somehow connected with Glory. And his being here could not be good.
"Ah...Miss Summers?" He took a step back as the entire party glared at him. Each had a different level, but in unison they were all anything but friendly. Tara hoped he was most frightened by her, but wasn't quite upset enough to shift her features and make sure. "Oh. Kay," the intern began, "I just wanted to come and give you a report on your friend." He took another littel step backward. Then plunged ahead. "She has multiple fractures in one leg, a compound fracture in an arm, and a broken collarbone. You were right, by the way, there is a concussion but not too serious. Evidently. In fact, she seems quite a bit healthier than she should be. All things considered." As one, Buffy and her friends continued to stare. "Well. The lacerations and bruises are pretty superficial, although they probably sting like hell. And--this isn't too horrible but she probably needs to see a dentist--Faith has lost a molar. It seems to have been yanked out. Anyway, she's under observation right now so there's no reason..."
"I don't want you treating her." Buffy's voice was icy.
"Uh..."
"Do you understand?"
"No. I don't. Why don't you..."
"Whether you get the reasons or not, I don't care. Do you understand my orders?"
Ben looked like he was about to argue, then thought better of it. "I'll tell someone. Trade off for another case. Okay?" When Buffy didn't say anything, he scampered off.
"Should we follow him," asked Riley?
"No," said Buffy, "we need to stay together."
That was when Willow walked in. Against her will, Tara felt herself react to her presence. Some muscles automatically relaxed, while her senses sharpened just a little bit. And when the redhead's eyes pierced her, she felt worse and better at the same time. Oh how I fear that anything might happen to you, thought the vampire to herself. How mightily you shape my life now. You look hurt, exhausted and unwell. Did someone cause this? How can I keep myself from slaughtering whoever was responsible...? Because you would not approve. Tara trembled in self control.
Everybody else moved to meet the worn-looking Willow.
"What happened?" This from Dawn, clearly appalled at Willow's appearance. She was visibly pale, and holding a paper towel stained with blood against her nose.
"Oh, just some magic that really was too much to handle. Almost. Uh, Guys? Can I talk to Oz and Tara please? Alone?"
Like the red sea, everybody parted and looked at the werewolf and the vampire in the rear--the two who hadn't moved. Tara realized in a flash that Oz had had the identical reaction as herself. And now they acted in unison again. Each walked up to Willow and joined her around the corner in a hallway...
* * *
An hour later, Willow was (still!) waiting for the migraine medicine she'd taken to kick in. And it didn't help that she simply could not afford to lie down right now. If Glory didn't know Dawn was the Key, she would soon. Eager to get Faith to the hospital, Buffy simply hadn't had time to deal with every single minion in the condo. Some of them were bound to have gotten Doc's message.
"Soooooo..." said Buffy, obviously antsy. Her most basic reaction to stress was to seize control, and now even letting Giles drive Oz's van was eating away at her. "What happened to Doc, exactly?"
"Told you," Willow said wearily. "I said the words and he disappeared."
"But where is he now?"
"Don't know."
Everybody was listening to their conversation. Not that they could help it. The van wasn't small, but it wasn't that big either and carrying six people didn't exactly discourage crowding. Or eavesdropping.
"Willow?" Dawn's voice sounded fragile. Her look was steel. "Did you see any sign of Mom?"
Okay here it was. Breathe normally. She needs to believe you. Buffy, too. Its for the best no matter how you look at it. As Willow creaked open her eyes, she caught both Summers girls pleading with their looks.
"Just before Anya and I broke into the office, we heard Doc say some words. I'm pretty sure they were part of a spell. And it sounded like some kind of banishment. He said 'reverti' at least three times. That's Latin for 'return.' I think...maybe he sent her back once he got what he wanted from her."
The van was suddenly very loudly silent. For a full minute.
"Mom told him?" Dawn looked in shock.
"Oh, Dawnie--I think it wasn't really your mother. Just part of her. The room, it kinda smelled...well, bad. Like, dead." Willow squirmed as she said this. The discomfort was real. Only the full cause of it was a lie. But she had to tell this lie. She had to.
Dawn put her head on her arms, hiding her face. Buffy gently stroked her hair, offering a comfort in something other than words. The sight made Willow long for Tara.
Now Giles brought the van to a stop. Gunn and Wesley were waiting for them at the corner, and they managed to fit everybody inside after only three minutes of groaning and squeezing. In the midst of it all, Giles managed to brief them on where things stood.
"Well," he'd begun, "the good news is that Faith is alive and in a doctor's care. The bad is that Glory knows Dawn is the Key. Oz, Tara and Anya will be meeting us with some alternate transportation."
Gunn did a take at this. "What kind of alternate transportation?"
The Watcher shrugged. "Something large enough for us all. Hopefully, fast as well."
"Fast? Why fast?"
"Because Glory knows," said Buffy. "And she's too powerful. Now that she knows, we have to get out of here. Fast."
Willow could feel how uncomfortable everyone was at this. In fact, Gunn and Xander both looked something akin to shocked. But Willow saw how utterly desperately certain Buffy was. She also saw something else--the ragged tatters events had left of her nerves. Flight might be the right choice. Maybe it was the only choice. Probably, it was. Yet there was only one possible reason Buffy would plan on running away so quickly and without argument.
She believed she was going to lose. What had happened to Faith must have been the final straw.
No one said anything as they headed out to the old factory.
* * *
Anya looked worn as Tara entered the office, followed by Oz. She immediately noticed something else--that Anya was standing in the corner of the office, as far away as possible from what had been Joyce Summers.
"Am I glad to see you two," said Anya, all but sighing in relief. "What took you so long?"
"I had to stop by my lair."
"Hello," said the colorless thing with Joyce Summers' shape. It was dead. Tara knew what was alive and what wasn't. After all, she was both. This was dead. Animate, yes. But far from alive. "Are you my daughter? I seem to remember my daughter is a blonde." The timbre of voice was a good imitation of kindliness. But that's all it was, the mystic equivalent of muscle memory. Neither compassionate nor cruel, this...thing...pretended to listen.
Now Tare looked at Anya, who wouldn't meet her gaze. It must have been uncomfortable in the extreme for her to react this way. But then, Anya was curiously fragile when it came to genuine emotion. And passionate. She had liked Joyce Summers very much. The past hour must have been subtle torture for her.
"My name is Tara," she said. The dead thing didn't blink at this. It didnt' blink at all. Nor did it react. Yeah, this could get unnerving real fast.
"Are you comfortable?"
It cocked its head, considering. "Not...uncomfortable."
"Good."
"Tara? Oz?" Anya spoke up. She had a box in her hand. "I searched the desk and found these. Had to break a couple of locks to do it. That much security probably means there're important." The top of the box flipped open.
Inside the box were scrolls. Tara was tempted to read them now, but she had a clear set of priorities. "Thanks, Anya," she said. "You're probably right." She took out an envelope. With a glance at the unblinking thing on the sofa (still in the same polite position it had before), Tara removed the picture inside. It was a nice photograph. Handsome even. And a couple of dozen times more alive than the creature that had the same face.
Oz's hand grabbed her wrist.
"What?"
"I'll do it."
Tara didn't--quite--do a take. "Hey, I'm the killer."
"But you and Willow..." He left that hanging. So. Oz knew. "This shouldn't lie between you." Deliberately, he took the photo from her hands. Some part of Tara thought she shouldn't let him do this. But the larger part realized his wisdom. Were our positions reversed, she wondered if she'd have done the same. Tara continued to wonder this as the photo left her touch, and he held it with two hands. He didn't hesitate more than a fraction of a second.
Oz ripped the photo in half.
And the thing with Joyce Summers' shape vanished.
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 Katharyn* » Thu Sep 13, 2001 12:01 am
Katharyn
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She's my always
by Wiccagrrl* » Thu Sep 13, 2001 12:01 am
Hear that Baby? You're my always.
*transplanted by WillTara
by tommo » Thu Sep 13, 2001 12:16 am
And er...let's have Faith back safe and sound shall we? Thanks. Heh.
------------------
"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 Scout » Thu Sep 13, 2001 4:14 am
by mollyig » Thu Sep 13, 2001 6:37 am
Great work!
------------------
"The hardest to learn is the least complicated" - Emily Saliers (Indigo Girls)
by christa monsta » Thu Sep 13, 2001 1:46 pm
that's me finally getting my Never the Twain fix. hope this high lasts til the next installment! thanks, zahir!!
------------------
"You can sleep with me!
Well now, that came out a lot more lesbian than it sounded in my head."
by TwiLightJoy » Fri Sep 14, 2001 1:34 pm
~Joy
by WiccanBex » Sat Sep 15, 2001 2:38 am
what can i say? it's great!
by nika » Sat Sep 15, 2001 6:06 am
by Zahir » Tue Sep 18, 2001 4:26 pm
* * *
Scrambling, Willow and her friends managed to get out of the overturned mobile home. The sun blazed above them. More importantly, over two dozen soldiers in chain mail were descending. Buffy met them head on. Riley, Gunn, Oz, Wesley and Tara were at her back--the last (thank god) wearing the Ring of Amara. Not only was Tara immune to the usually-fatal rays of the sun, she was practically invulnerable. The Knights of Byzantium didn't know that.
There was a deserted gas station across the road. Willow, along with Xander and Anya and Giles, formed a protective ring around Dawn. All of them headed for the station.
Buffy and the others backed up after them.
Axes and swords were swinging in the melee. Curiously, the Knights' greater numbers weren't having as great an effect as Willow would have expected. One part of her mind wondered if perhaps they were too rigid in their tactics to deal with such a diverse foe. Then again, three of those they battled were more than human. Buffy was the Slayer. Oz was a werewolf. And Tara--her Tara--was a vampire. Knowing her love was rendered invulnerable by the talisman she wore didn't ease Willow's nerves as much as she'd expected. Hearing the twang of arrows couldn't help but make her flinch. And turn around. No less than three arrows shuddered as they struck Tara's chest. It made little difference, and the Knights at last reacted to the threat she represented. More hurled themselves at Tara, whose face melted into its fierce demon-form, accepting battle.
Once inside the station, Willow began to chant. She could feel the power begin to flow, her blood tingling against her bones. Would this work? Even now, after furious study and practice, she wasn't sure. But she raised her voice, wielding the arcane words.
"Buffy!" Giles called out. "In the station!"
Almost immediately, Buffy responded. She--and those fighting at her side--broke contact with the fanatics. They ran for the gas station, as Willow chanted faster.
What happened next must have taken less than a second. Yet it seemed to last an hour at least...
She was completing the spell. Barely a word remained to be intoned. Meanwhile, Buffy and the others were racing at full speed to the safety of what would soon be a stronghold. The Knights were poised to race after them, but one man gave an order, making them hesitat, then stop. At their rear, five men aimed their crossbows.
The last word of the incantation finished just as the crossbows fired. A mystical barrier immediately began to form around the abandoned gas station. But it did not form instantly. Three crossbow bolts struck the newborn barrier and bounced off. One was slowed, then cut in half, in a fluke caught precisely between the two sides of the barrier. But the fifth and last bolt had crossed before the barrier was up. It flew straight and furious, piercing its target.
Riley coughed blood as he fell. And Buffy, hearing that, turned. She was by his side almost instantly.
The bolt had gone all the way through, its gory point sticking out of Riley's chest. His eyes met Buffy's, refusing to look elsewhere as the light in them fade to nothing.
Willow fainted.
* * *
As the sun began to set later that day, Tara held the still-unconcious Willow in her lap. Her barrier still held. Buffy kept vascillating between nervous pacing and hugging her sister. Gunn and Oz had brought Riley's body inside, covering it with a sheet of canvas. Xander and Anya were holding each other. Tara could relate. Meanwhile, Giles and Wesley were reading the scrolls brought from Doc's office.
"Tara? What's wrong with Willow?" Dawn asked this with hardly any change of inflection. Not a good sign.
"Creating the barrier exhausted her. She needs to rest."
Dawn nodded, accepting this, then wandered off. Tara kept her own gaze on Giles and Wesley as they continued reading. She had skimmed them already, and knew what they contained. And had chosen not to tell the more disturbing details. Buffy's sharp looks in her direction confirmed that instinct, as far as she was concerned. Not that she blamed the Slayer. Especially now. For a horrible moment, Tara imagined how she would have felt if that crossbow bolt had slain Willow. For a moment, the word "hell" took on a terrible meaning--to see Willow die. Slowly, firmly, not wanting to wake her beloved, Tara bent down to press her lips against Willow's brow.
"Find anything?" Buffy's voice was ragged as she approached the two Watchers. They looked up, guiltily thought Tara. But then, she knew.
"Yes," answered Giles at last. "The good news is that Glory is most definitely working against a time table. If she fails to seize Dawn by a specific hour, even a specific moment, then Dawn will be safe." He paused.
"Well," said Anya in the silence that followed, "that is good news. Isn't it?"
"Yeah," Buffy said. "That is. What else?"
"We've calculated the precise day," added Wesley, "and it seems sure that Glory needs to have Dawn by..."
"The day after tomorrow," finished Xander. Everyone looked at him. A lot. "When the new moon is parallel to Sirius and Betelgeuse."
"Y-y-yes," said Wesley. He removed his glasses, staring at Xander.
"Extraordinary," breathed Giles, putting his glasses on.
"And how the hell did you know that?" demanded Buffy.
"Don't know," Xander replied. He blinked. "Just...came to me."
"The exact equation that a hellgod needs in order to accomplish her goals" asked Wesley incredulously, "just...came to you?"
Xander wilted a little under their combined stare. "Yeah?"
"Makes sense," said Gunn. Now everyone looked at him. "The X-man had his brain sucked by this Glory-chick, right? Till you found a way to cure him?"
"That's right," answered Tara. She thought maybe she could see where Gunn was going with this.
"Of course!" uttered Wesley suddenly.
"Makes sense that maybe Xander sees things different now," finished Gunn with a shrug.
"This could prove extraordinarily useful," said Giles, his eyes almost aglow. "Xander--do you have any more insights to offer?"
"Sorry."
"What about you?" asked Buffy. "You two've been oggling these scrolls. What else do they say? Anything else about what Glory wants with my sister? What she's trying to do? Why these Knights want to stop her? Why Riley had to..." Trembling, Buffy stopped herself from saying anything more. She tilted back her head, all too clearly to keep tears from starting to flow. Deep breaths followed. Very deep ones, for nearly a minute. At last, she slowly lowered her head and drilled into the Watchers with bright, hurting eyes. "What" she whispered, "do those damn scrolls say?"
Tara didn't know either Giles or Wesley terribly well, but their discomfort at that question was achingly obvious. Especially Giles. And these were Willow's friends. Her dearest friends, ripping at each others open wounds because they couldn't help it.
"Glory wants to go home, to the hell dimension from which she was exiled. That's why she wants the Key, to open a portal between this world and her own. But to do that, she needs Dawn's blood. She needs to shed it, using Dawn's life to rip open a door. What she can't control is which door will open, so she intends to open them all. Thousands and thousands of dark realms and hells touch this reality in some way. Glory will hurl open all those gates. Chaos will build on chaos as other realities pour into this one while Glory makes her escape. And the Earth dissolves. Until the blood of the Key flows no more, which won't happen until Dawn herself dies. That's what the scrolls say." Tara had spoken slowly, deliberately. It was vital Buffy understand precisely what was at stake. More, she had to take that ugly task away from Buffy's and sweet Willow's friends. That, at the least, she could do.
Buffy looked at Giles for confirmation. He reluctantly nodded. So too did Wesley, meeting the Slayer's eyes unflinching.
Dawn had gone pale. Tara had a flash of deja vu and spoke up again. "Dawn? Anyone can kill. Everybody has the power to torture."
"Not like me."
"But we all have it. What matters is what we do, not what we might do." Should she go further? Explain how as a human she'd been told she was destined to become a demon, that she'd do terrible crimes because it was her irrevocable nature. And that, as a genuine demon (which was an ironic fluke, really, since her family had lied), she learned even then such acts were far from inevitable? No, let her digest what she could for now. Too much and she'd react even worse. Let the truth live in her. For a time.
"Are you telling me," said Buffy in a dangerous voice, "to kill my sister?"
"No!" piped in Anya. "What she's saying is you've gotta keep her out of Glory's clutches for another couple of days!"
"That would, of course, be best," said Giles.
"Ideal," Wesley echoed.
"We know what we've gotta do, then," Xander exclaimed. "Just protect Dawn for another two days. And we're home free." His deliberately cheerful tone faded as he looked at Dawn's eyes.
"Protect me?" she whispered. "Like Faith did? Like Riley?"
No one answered.
* * *
Willow woke to a gentle rocking sensation. It very nearly hurt, her brain feeling bruised and all. But because she knew without opening her eyes whose arms wrapped and swayed and protected her, the pleasure eclipsed any discomfort.
"Hey, you" she whispered, eyes closed. Cool lips pressed against her forehead, feeling good. "Sorry about going all girly and fainting."
"Shhhhhh..." Tara said. "Rest some more. You need it."
"Nope." Deliberately (and reluctantly) Willow sat up. "Ow."
"Your head?"
"Uh-huh. And my guts. Plus there's this weird tendency for my teeth to go all rubbery. No," she resisted Tara's attempts to make her lie down, "time to get up." She nearly regretted this as she peaked out from behind eyelids at a spinning world.
"Sure?"
"No. But its too late now." Willow concentrated. The sun had set, for no light peaked through the windows. Buffy was near the front door, standing towards it, back to everyone else. Nearly everyone was lying down, a few low snores confirming their sleep. Anya and Xander were coiled up together, while Dawn managed to curl her lanky frame into an abandoned back seat of a car. Willow took another sweep of the room. Then another. She looked back at Tara. "Riley?"
Tara shook her head. Willow couldn't be surprised. The image of Buffy's boyfriend's chest with a crossbow bolt emerging from it was only too vivid. Hard to forget. Difficult not think of with horror--especially given the little detail that Willow herself was in love with a vampire. Wooden weapons piercing chests and hearts had become a special terror. Her hand reached to Tara's, almost instinctually checking that her love yet wore the protective Ring of Amara.
No need for words. Their hands held each other tight.
"Some news," began Tara after another minute or two. She kept her voice low. "Giles and Wesley finished reading the scrolls. Everything was pretty much what I thought--although they've worked out the precise time for Glory's ritual. The night after tomorrow. Buffy...didn't react very well. All she can think of what can go wrong."
Willow nodded. Understandable. Two boyfriends in a row killed right in front of her--how can anyone cope well with that? "Any other good news?" She smiled wanly.
"Actually, yes." Tara's reply surprised Willow. "Seems Xander has some kind of psychic power now, so he knows things about Glory, about what she needs. In the morning we're going to do some testing, see how much we can find out."
Too tired to do more than nod at this, Willow leaned up against Tara, who shifted to accomdate her. "Not a good place we're at right now," she quietly said.
"Oh, it could be worse."
"Yeah, we could be up to your eyebrows in poisonous scorpions."
She felt rather than saw Tara smile. "As opposed to non-poisonous ones."
"Or Glory might not have been an invulnerable hellgod."
"What else could she have been?"
"Something worse."
"Like?"
"An insurance salesman."
This time the smile showed in Tara's voice. "A telemarketer insurance salesman.!"
"Maybe a Jehovah's Witness telemarketer insurance salesman!"
"A Jehovah's Witness telemarketer insurance salesman who works part-time for the IRS!"
"No," finished Willow "what would have been really bad--if she was all of that plus she was a televangelist!"
Strange, thought Willow to herself, how little I've heard Tara giggle. Not that hers was a loud giggle--more like a galloping shudder along the length of her body. Punctuated, as it turned out, but tiny snorting sounds. It was really odd. And utterly charming. Willow let herself enjoy the experience for a little bit.
"What are you two laughing at?" Buffy's voice wasn't (quite) a dash of cold water. She did, however, dampen their reactions as she loomed over them suddenly. Unlike either Willow or Tara, she made no attempt to lower her voice. All around the room, people were shaking themselves awake.
"How? Where? What?" mumbled Xander, flickering his eyes open.
"Buffy? Has something happened?" Giles had awakened almost instantly.
"Willow and Tara," the Slayer said in earnest indignation, "were laughing." She looked at everyone as if daring them not to share in condemning them. No one else uttered a word. At first. Then...
"Buffy." Dawn's eyes grabbed her sister. "I say--anyone who finds any reason to smile in all this," she said "let them." It took a moment, but the Slayer began to relax. It wasn't like deflating, more like a letting go. All the battle-ready tension that had made her seem like a spring just vanished. One moment she'd looked ready to attack her best friend's vampire lover. The next, she was walking over to her sister, and hugging her.
"You're only fourteen," she muttered in mock crankiness. "You're not supposed to be wise. Stop it."
Dawn hugged back. "You first."
* * *
Tara heard it first. What sounded like wind--or maybe a stampede, but with only one horse. It was the silence as Dawn and Buffy comforted each other that let her hear it.
Next was Xander. His head whipped in the direction of the dirty windows. Being closer, he got to them first, and looked out.
"Uh...People? Trouble!"
Moments later, everyone was up against the grimy glass. It was night, and the glass was caked with dirt. Plus there was the mystical barrier which distorted everything beyond. Yet certain details were clear. And nothing interfered with the sounds coming from the encamped Knights of Byzantium. Yells were the least of it. The clash of weapons made up much of the noise, along with an occaisional scream for punctuation. Meanwhile, a cloud of dust literally made its way through the camp--like a tiny dust storm.
"Dawn," said Buffy, "go and hide." The dust cloud was getting closer. "Now!"
Amid all the tumult outside, a red figure was now very obvious. She was wearing a tight red dress, a mini in fact, with matching pumps. Her golden hair was done up nicely, probably having killed half a can of hairspray to create the effect. Right now, she was moving just slow enough to make out her actions--twisting blades back into their wielders' bodies, kicking armored figures twenty or thirty feet, punching through chain-mail-guarded torsoes with all the apparent effort of someone wading through really heavy grass.
Glory finally reached the mystic barrier, only to find herself blocked by a middle-aged man in better armor than the others. She blinked, and grinned. "Gregor!" she exclaimed before picking him up with one hand "Have I thanked you yet for leading me to the Key?"
Then she yanked his head off his neck with one, brutal twist.
Her next blow was against the mystic barrier. It collapsed with a thunderclap. Less than a quarter of a second later--too fast for anyone inside to respond--she ripped open the wall of the abandoned gas station.
Tara raced towards Glory as fast as she could. Buffy of course beat her there, only to be picked up by the Hellgod with a sneer. "Get serious," she said, then tossed Buffy to the other side of the room. Tara landed no less than three kicks to her knee, making Glory stumble but only for a moment. "Hey! Don't I know you?" Glory reached down to pick up a piece of wood. Then she closed one hand on Tara's shoulder before driving it into Tara's heart. Even she looked surprised as her vampiric foe didn't turn to dust but punched her in the jaw. Hard. Twice. "Neat trick," smiled Glory. "Wanna see one of mine?" Bracing herself, she lifted Tara by the wood in her chest and threw the vampire behind her.
Although the wood through her heart couldn't kill Tara, it was big enough (along with the hard landing) to hurt. She barely heard Anya's frantic shriek of "Xander!" When she did, she looked up to see an amazing sight.
Xander was trading blows with Glory. Or something like that, because not one of Glory's fists was ever coming into contact with him. Each time she swung, he perfectly dodged the blow. A good thing, too, since one that missed punched a whole in the concrete wall behind him.
Unfortunately, not of his own blows were doing anything to slow Glory down.
It was at this moment that Dawn tried to run. Glory turned away from Xander.
Buffy hurled herself at Glory, only to be tossed aside. Dawn got barely two steps after that before Glory had one arm around her waist.
Then, with what sounded like a cackle, Glory ran fast enough to leave a cloud of dust in her wake.
As the dust settled, not even Tara's vision could detect a sign of them.
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 nika » Tue Sep 18, 2001 6:12 pm
by Scout » Tue Sep 18, 2001 6:13 pm
Makes that 'hubcap in the chest' seem pretty weak.
As always, a great chapter. I like the idea that Xander has special powers. Neat twist. And I love that Tara has the ring. It made me feel better during the battle!
by TwiLightJoy » Tue Sep 18, 2001 11:12 pm
Other than that it was all good, especially the touches with Xander being all Glory-psychic.
~Joy
by xita » Wed Sep 19, 2001 12:13 am
by WiccanBex » Wed Sep 19, 2001 2:56 am
well done can't wait for the next part
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"if you throw a stone, something's gonna shatter somewhere. We're all so fragile, we're all so scared."
nocturnal review site
by mollyig » Wed Sep 19, 2001 3:43 am
Brilliant!
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"The hardest to learn is the least complicated" - Emily Saliers (Indigo Girls)
by Wonko » Wed Sep 19, 2001 4:47 am
------------------
Words from Wonko
The MKF Appreciation Society - All Miss Kitty all the Time!
by Zahir » Wed Sep 19, 2001 8:24 am
quote:
Originally posted by TwiLightJoy:
Personally I didn't like the Jehovah's Witness thing.
Joy, I truly didn't mean to offend.
One person I know who loves making jokes about Jehovah's Witnesses is one himself! For that matter, I've been a telemarketer...
More to the point, methinks that is precisely the kind of joke a Wiccan Vampire and a Jewish Wiccan might make and get a much-needed giggle out of.
------------------
"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 mollyig » Wed Sep 19, 2001 8:37 am
------------------
"The hardest to learn is the least complicated" - Emily Saliers (Indigo Girls)
by tommo » Wed Sep 19, 2001 8:37 am
quote:
Originally posted by Wonko:
You were right about the angst - I always rather liked Riley (call me crazy.) Poor Riley.
Wonko, you're crazy.
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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 Wonko » Wed Sep 19, 2001 12:56 pm
------------------
Words from Wonko
The MKF Appreciation Society - All Miss Kitty all the Time!
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