Skip to content


RC 2018: NEW CHAPTER 7/7/07

Willow and Tara live happy together in a place untouched by Mutant Enemy. This is a forum for Willow and Tara Fan Fiction (i.e. fan fiction, top 10s, etc...) Please read the content advisories on individual stories, read at your own discretion.

Re: Update

Postby tkheaven » Wed Mar 26, 2003 1:57 pm

:bow oh.wow. that was was really good....i gotta admit, Glory's 'brain-sucking' comment kinda made me go through flashbacks but I'm sure you're version will be a hell of alot better than whatshitsface... :p

Tk's new and improved "GrrArgg"...


"I've become really protective of her. I want to make sure if Tara comes back, it's for good reason." -Amber Benson
Tara ate her, devoured her from beneath. -The Edge of Silence giving new meaning to this season's catch phrase.
"Don't get me wrong. I kinda like being the quirky nympho chick." - Michelle in 'American Pie 3'

tkheaven
 


Re: Update

Postby Sheridan » Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:39 pm

Quote:
oh.wow. that was was really good....i gotta admit, Glory's 'brain-sucking' comment kinda made me go through flashbacks but I'm sure you're version will be a hell of alot better than whatshitsface...




Ok for the peace of mind of Tkheaven and everyone else I won't be writing a brainsucking scene. The last S5 story 'Long Weekend' takes place before Tough Love, where I assume W/T go to the park together but Glory catches them in a brief moment apart, and the next story 'The Road Not Taken' takes place at the same time 'Bargaining' would have, about three months after Dawn dived off the tower...

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Re: Update

Postby chronic » Fri Mar 28, 2003 10:25 am

I liked your ending to "fire Willow" story arc, the whole thing was much better than the "addict willow" story in the series. And the proposal! Can I assume we'll be seeing a wedding soon?:applause



Your version of Joyce's illness was good, with Fire Willow almost telling Dawn everything, and Willow and Tara having to decide that it was kinder to wipe their memories and keep their hope.



Looking forward to the next part, and season six. Elias goes up the tower? Uh oh... And this time Dawn dives off??? :shock



Can't wait!



Edited to add

Bloody sig!

EzCode Parsing Error:]


[
EzCode Parsing Error:]Tara:[ EzCode Parsing Error:]There's a monkey problem?[
EzCode Parsing Error:]Willow:[ EzCode Parsing Error:]Only if you don't stretch first.[
:dance :dance :dance :dance :dance

Edited by: chronic at: 3/28/03 8:26:31 am
chronic
 


Re: Update

Postby Sheridan » Fri Mar 28, 2003 6:56 pm

Quote:
Looking forward to the next part, and season six. Elias goes up the tower? Uh oh... And this time Dawn dives off???

Can't wait!




Well Chronic you'll just have too.:) Actually I have the S6 Outline ready. Be warned there may be some mods as I write the actual stories. Also unlike past outlines this contains short synposes of the stories and naturally it bears no relation to the other S6.

V

V

V

V

V



SEASON 6




The Road Not taken




In the aftermath of Dawn leaping into the vortex and disappearing Willow and Tara begin a search that leads to a parallel universe and twisted confrontation.



Cradle




Back from their Honeymoon Tara is haunted by the sounds of child laughing and crying. When Willow sees a magazine article with a picture of Dr Tomarov she begins to make a connection...



Parental Controls




Willow and Tara have to face up to their new responsibilities and cut back on patrolling. Unfortunately some people can't forgive and forget and the pair find they have to face down an unusual troika.



Inheritance




Elias approaches Willow and Tara about his belief that the Slaying is grinding Buffy down and its time for her to quit. The couple agree to try the impossible, find a way for Buffy to quit. The only solution looks tto be activating a new Slayer; which brings an SIT named Erin to Sunnydale.



Farewells




With the unimagnable prospect of Bufy leaving Sunnydale on the brink of being realised Willow and Tara have to tackle one last little obstacle before everyone can move on; closing the Hellmouth for good.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 3/30/03 8:49:47 am
Sheridan
 


Re: Update

Postby Sheridan » Wed Apr 23, 2003 4:42 pm

Well 'Long weekend' is finished, just needs some editing and it should be up in a few days. Should have called it 'Eternal Weekend' given how long it took to write.:spin

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Reality Check 14: Long Weekend

Postby Sheridan » Sat Apr 26, 2003 5:14 pm

Title: Long weekend

Author: Mike Mullen

Rating: NC-17/18 because of violence, adult themes and sex.

Spoilers: None what so ever

Disclaimer: All the original BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and ME, everyone else in the stories are my personal slaves.

Summary: Buffy's on a break and Willow and Tara are taking care of things, which includes a supernatural looting spree

Authors notes: Wrapping up S5 and laying the ground work for the S6 arc.

Feedback: Just add your comments at the end of the story.



Long Weekend




1. "Stretched"




"It still looks kind of cool to me." Willow commented as she walked around the mansion looking at the furniture and fittings. It had taken days before Willow could work up the nerve to come back to the place, the memories of her confrontation with her other self were still raw. There was no choice though; there were a whole bunch of loose ends to tie up.

        "Given that it was decorated by someone with a taste for evil I guess so." Tara was just teasing Willow. The mansion as refitted by the Fire was very nice, not exactly cozy but it did have its appeal.

        Willow smiled at Tara, "I know we can't keep this stuff, not even the computers she took from the Milner Corporation." It was a veiled plea, after all Milner didn't really qualify as an innocent victim and Willow's laptop was beyond any hope of repair.

        "Not even the computer." Tara didn't want anything that connected them to the Fire however indirectly.

        Willow didn't say anything, she just carried on looking around, fixing the place in her mind, some day she would make somewhere else like it without any evil magic being involved.

        Seeing Willow's mood Tara thought of a consolation, "I did like the big bed."

        Willow looked at her, trying to gauge Tara's intent, "Really?"

        "Yes and I don't suppose spending one night here would do any harm," she suggested seductively.

        Willow walked over and took her by the hand, "Absolutely not."

        The huge bed dominated the bedroom and Willow led Tara towards it slowly. Naturally the sheets were silk and Willow ran her hands over them, "These just feel so smooth against your skin."

        "Do they?" Tara asked coquettishly.

        "Well you don't have to take my word for it." Willow suggested and patted the bed.

        Tara smiled and began to unbutton her blouse. Willow dropped onto the bed and did likewise. It was a little hard to undress when you were watching someone else so intently but Willow managed somehow. As she let her underwear fall to the floor Willow slid across the sheets on her belly, stretching like a cat as she did so.

        The sight of Willow spread naked on the bed made Tara fumble with her bra catch; she finally managed the task and slid out of her panties before joining Willow on the bed. Tara let fingers wander across the sheets and onto Willow's back. They traced down along Willow's spine and over her buttocks before falling back onto the sheets, "I think you feel better than the sheets," she muttered before moving in and nuzzling Willow's neck.

        Willow squirmed under the tender kisses and finally managed to turn onto her back. She laced her fingers around Tara's neck and pulled her into a kiss. As their mouths clung Willow let her hands slide along Tara's body to caress her soft flesh.

        Tara responded by moving on top of Willow and letting the heat of their bodies mingle. With a free hand Tara managed to find the top sheet and pull it over them; there was something sensual about the feel of the silk against her skin and she began to explore Willow's body more urgently.

        Willow moaned at Tara's sure touch; she knew every place to touch Willow to excite her; and Willow returned the favour. The pair rolled over and wrapped the sheet tightly around them; pressing them together tightly and setting off a spasm of moans and groans.

        They ground their bodies against one another, desperately eager for one another after what seemed an eternity apart. They heaved and moaned and practically brought the house down as they orgasmed.



        In the morning Willow had produced a pad of post-it notes from somewhere and gone off on a labeling spree to make sure she knew where everything had to go. When Willow got into an organizing mood Tara knew it was safest to be somewhere else and check herself for labels just in case; her partner wasn’t above sticking a note saying ‘property of Willow Rosenberg’ on her butt.

        Staying out of the way also gave Tara an excuse to slip back to the dorm room and then head for the Summers house to get a second opinion on something.

        Dawn was pleased to see Tara and Tara was glad too see that Dawn seemed to have gotten over the whole kidnapping thing. The teenager saw it as actually being on the inside for once and had used her staying cool in the crisis as leverage to get permission to go on patrol. Buffy was however still immovable on the whole subject.

        "Didn't really expect to see you for a couple of days," dawn commented, "I thought you and Willow would have a lot of catching up to do," her expression left no doubt she knew exactly what sort of catching up she was talking about.

        Buffy came down the stairs with a frown on her face, "Didn't we talk about innuendo?" Buffy asked in a warning tone.

        Dawn shrugged, "You talked, I just tried to look like I was paying attention."

        Before Buffy could respond Joyce emerged from the kitchen, “Could you two please give it a rest?"

        The two sisters looked suitably shamefaced. Joyce had improved rapidly since coming out of hospital; her daughters were still being cautious however.

        "Actually I came over to show you something." Tara explained, breaking up the awkwardness. She walked over and sat on the sofa before pulling a small box from her pocket. Tara opened it and revealed a ring. It had one medium sized diamond in the middle with a smaller one either side of it, and still smaller ones beside those.

        "That's for Willow?" Dawn asked breathlessly. As Tara nodded she asked, "Can I touch it?"

        Tara nodded and Dawn picked up the ring, "It looks old."

        "It belonged to my grandmother." Tara explained, "After I found out that Donny had kept her diary and the letter from me I remembered that she said she would leave me the ring. So I phoned Donny after Willow proposed and it turned out that cousin Beth had taken the ring. When I told him I would come to Quincy and get it back Donny decided to talk to Beth and it arrived yesterday."

        Dawn handed the ring back to Tara, "I think Willow will love it. When are you going to give it to her?"

        "I want to wait until Willow finds a ring for me so we can exchange them. You know Willow though, she wants to find the perfect one so it could be a while." Tara smiled as she spoke; she loved all of Willow's little quirks.

        Dawn considered that, "Maybe we could nudge her along, how about it Buffy?"

        Buffy had been sitting quietly next to Tara with a slightly glazed expression, she jumped at the sound of her name, "Uh yeah maybe we could." It didn't sound like she quite understood what she was agreeing to.

        "Are you hungry Tara?" Dawn asked abruptly, "I know I could go for a sandwich. Let's go raid the fridge."

        Tara took the hint and followed Dawn out to the kitchen; Buffy didn't even notice that Tara had gone.



        Out in the kitchen Dawn opened the fridge door and ducked down behind it. Tara squatted down beside her, "Elias wants to talk to you and Willow. ASAP he said." Dawn whispered. Tara didn't need to ask about what, she knew Elias' number one priority.

        "Buffy does seem a little out of it." Tara observed.

        "More like a lot," Dawn responded, "she's been totally spaced out the last couple of days."

        Tara patted Dawn on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I'm sure she's just tired." Tara sincerely hoped that was all it was, they really couldn't cope with another crisis right now.



        In all the time the gang had known him Willow had never been to Elias Carter's home. She had built up certain expectations about it and was taken aback when she discovered how far off the mark she had been. For one thing it was tidy, not the disheveled bachelor pad of Willow's imagination. There was a certain amount of military memorabilia, mostly photographs from Elias' service. One of Elias in dress uniform caught Willow's eye. There were several medals pinned to his chest, the kind they didn’t just go giving for long service or good behaviour. She was tempted to ask about them but she knew that right now the only thing on his mind was Buffy.

        Thinking of Buffy drew Willow's attention to a number of familiar items scattered around the apartment. Willow had assumed that a lot of Buffy's stuff was still in boxes, what with moving in and out of college, instead most of it appeared to be here. Willow got the strong sense that Buffy was on the brink of moving in here; circumstances had just conspired against her.

        The door to the apartment opened and Xander walked in with Anya in tow. Anya looked distinctly grumpy; which might be Willow and Tara's fault. The announcement of their plans had created a certain tension between Xander and Anya and you didn't need to be a genius to guess what they were arguing about.

        Giles trailed in a couple of minutes later and Elias offered him a chair before he began, "Sorry to be so secretive about this but if Buffy got wind of it she'd put her foot down."

        "She seemed out of it when I saw her this morning, I've never seen her like that." Tara had explained to Willow about Buffy's air of distraction and her listlessness, though not her reason for going to the Summers house.

        "Buffy has been doing her best to keep up a front, truth is she's spent." Elias stated bluntly.

        Giles nodded slowly, "She has seemed to be going through the motions lately."

        "Right. She's patrolling, looking after Dawn, and even though Joyce is better she isn't exactly well yet." Elias was making sure everyone was up to speed.

        Willow practically had to bite her tongue to avoid commenting. One of the Fire's last acts had been to try and rejoin with Willow. She had rejected it but Willow had been exposed to the knowledge of what the Fire had done and seen. Some of it was vague; one thing though was crystal clear; Joyce Summers didn't have a lot of time left, despite everything that had been changed by her visit to the future and her visions that seemed to be an inescapable disaster.

        "What I want to do is take her away for a couple weeks," Elias continued, oblivious to Willow's turmoil, "that's not going to happen so I'm prepared to settle for a long weekend. Just get her out of this town, give Buffy a chance to catch her breath."

        "It sounds good to me." Willow couldn't remember Buffy going on vacation in years, unless you counted her time in LA and that had been more torture than holiday. Everyone else indicated his or her agreement.

        Satisfied with their response Elias brought up the big obstacle, "Great, now all we have to do is persuade Buffy." That was when everyone started looking uneasy. The one person who wouldn’t want Buffy to take a break was the slayer herself.



2. "Persuasion"




There was a flurry of activity in the Magic Box when Willow and Tara walked in. Boxes had been pulled out of the basement and shipping documents were scattered across the counters, "I thought the stock taking was next month?" Tara asked uncertainly.

        Giles looked harassed as he looked up from the ledger he was examining, "It was but we seem to be missing some items."

        Willow looked a little guilty, "I'm sure we accounted for everything we took."

        "It isn't that," Giles reassured her, "I've already adjusted our books to allow for that. No we simply seem to missing a number of items, beyond the usual depredations of shoplifters."

        "Well we could help." Willow offered.

        That got Anya's attention. She had been focusing on ticking off items on the clipboard she was carrying and had ignored Willow and Tara, "You could do a locator spell and find our stolen property," she suggested with sudden enthusiasm.

        "Actually I was thinking more of helping with the inventory." Willow replied cautiously. Tara smiled at Willow's restraint. Her fiancée was concerned not to be seen 'throwing magic around like confetti'. Willow had however indicated that she was willing to resort to a spell if she couldn't find the 'right' ring soon. Tara couldn't really help with that since for one thing Willow wanted it to be a surprise and for another Willow couldn't explain what was lacking in the rings she had looked at.

        Willow picked up an inventory sheet and went to check a shelf, "You haven't forgotten we're going to Buffy's at lunchtime have you?"

        Giles startled look said that he had but he wasn't about to admit being so distracted by mere financial matters, "Of course not. Do you actually think this is a good plan Elias is proposing?"

        "I think it is, yes." Willow answered hesitantly; she was certain it was a good idea. She just didn't want to get too deep into the reasons.

        Giles picked up on her apparent uncertainty to advance his point, "But with so much going on is this really the time for Buffy to be going out of town?"

        "I think that's why now is the right time, I don't see things getting any better any time soon." Willow bit her lip, she was afraid that was inviting Giles to ask questions she didn’t want to answer.

        Tara stepped in before Giles could pursue things, "You’re both right, it isn’t the ideal time but there’s never going to be an ideal time for the Slayer to go away from the Hellmouth."

        That persuaded Giles to drop the matter and Willow gave Tara a grateful smile. Tara was going to go over to her but hesitated as something odd crossed her vision. It was like the contrail of a highflying aircraft and very faint. She was going to bring it up when Anya started complaining again and she was distracted. By the time she looked again the odd effect had vanished.



        When Xander had explained that he had the day off and was willing to take her on a shopping expedition Buffy had been hesitant. However Dawn was in school, her mother was determined to 'stop lying around like an invalid', and she hadn't actually hit the stores in what seemed like forever so she finally gave in and went along.

        If Buffy had been on top of her game she might have wondered at Xander's unexpected offer and maybe even suspected some sort of ulterior motive. As it was she walked in to her home with two shopping bags and no suspicion of the ambush waiting in store for her.

        Tara watched as Buffy came to a halt in the front door with Xander behind her. Despite protests from Anya about closing the store the entire gang was gathered and waiting for this moment.

        "What's this in aid of?" Buffy asked, in a tone that made Xander very aware that he was the one person in within reach if she didn't take this well.

        "Perhaps you should take a seat." Giles suggested hesitantly.

        "Perhaps you should tell me what this is about and then I'll sit down." Buffy's whole posture said she was ready to flee at a moments notice.

        Elias stepped forward, "It's about you, me, and these," he handed Buffy a sheaf of computer printouts. She was expecting details of some earth-shaking apocalypse. What she got was details about a beach house in Mexico, a B&B near Seattle, and a place just off the Vegas strip.

        Thoroughly confused Buffy finally did sit down; allowing a relieved Xander to slip past and join Anya, "Why are you giving me all these holiday brochures?" She realized it was a dumb question as soon as it was out of her mouth.

        "Because since no one can remember you going on holiday I wasn't sure where you'd like. So I got you a beach, a country place, and, just in case you wanted some action, I threw in Las Vegas." Elias explained succinctly.

        "I'm not going on holiday." Buffy stated bluntly.

        "Actually you are." Willow commented, "Or at least going away for a couple of days," she tried to balance firmness and cheeriness in her tone and wasn't sure how well it worked.

        "You're being ridiculous, I have too much to do here." Buffy wasn't budging an inch.

        Buffy's attitude didn't phase Elias; he had expected it and prepared his strategy accordingly, "Like patrolling, researching a way to beat Glory, taking care of your mom and Dawn, all of those things?

        "Exactly, so lets just drop this." Buffy made to get up but she had walked right into Elias' trap.

        "So if we could cover all those things then there's no good reason for you not to go, right?" He asked reasonably.

        Buffy slid back into the chair, "Well I suppose so, but..."

        "But me no buts little lady," Buffy blushed at the use of a pet name never previously heard outside of Elias' bedroom. It bought Elias time to finish his comments, "If we can cover those points you really have no excuse. And as it happens I know a couple of people who can cover them all," he nodded at Willow and Tara.

        Willow took her cue, "It wouldn't be the first time we've slept over here," she smiled as she recalled the first time her and Tara had stayed here. It had been well worth the telling off from Joyce, "And we can take care of patrolling and research."

        "I can't just dump everything on you two." Buffy asserted, though she didn't sound as certain as before, "Especially not Dawn."

        "Well we have to get used to looking after a teenager some time." Tara commented, which confused everyone for a moment, though Elias and Buffy caught on fairly quickly.

        "And I do sort of owe you one after you know, kidnapping her and everything." Willow was determined to keep up the momentum and make sure Buffy didn't have a chance to come up with any more reasons not to go away.

        Buffy was beginning to feel dizzy and she couldn’t avoid admitting how tempting it was, "Well I suppose it would be nice to just sit on the beach for a while."

        "That's the spirit, and we can always call you if there's an emergency." Willow reminded her. Telepathically she reached out to Elias, you're unplugging the phone right? Elias responded with a simple nod of the head.



        After Elias had gotten Buffy onto the details of where they were going to go the rest of the gang had slipped away. Willow especially had felt a need to get a little distance. The more she had worked on persuading Buffy to go the guiltier she felt about keeping secrets from her. "You can't go on beating yourself up over this," Tara insisted, "We both decided that it was better if she didn't know about her mom. She wasn't supposed to know."

        It was the same argument that Tara had put forward before and Willow knew it was true; still she couldn't shake off the feeling that either she should be honest or do something to fix the situation, "I did look you know, for any healing spells that could help." Willow admitted.

        Tara felt a knot in her stomach, "And?"

        "And there are spells, they're all dark and nasty and most of them involve taking life energy from someone else. So I just put the books away again; maybe it was selfish but I just couldn't justify the risk, to myself as well as Joyce. Was it selfish?"

        Tara responded by putting her arms around her and kissing her. It took a while for her to finish and put her feelings into words, "It's not being selfish; it's being responsible. There's a big difference between what you can do with the magic and what you should do."

        A few weeks before Willow would have given Tara an argument; that the power was there to be used and why shouldn't they? Now the why was crystal clear and Willow was just grateful she hadn't paid a higher price to gain that insight. Thinking about that brought up another subject, "We are going to have to keep a close eye on Dawn you know."

        "You think she's going to try and take advantage of us?" Tara fully expected Dawn to be a handful.

        Willow smiled and shook her head, "Definitely but its more than that. I didn't get everything my other self knew or did but she definitely expected to trade the Key to Glory, and she believed that Glory was telling the truth about what she wanted with it."

        Tara couldn't quite see what Willow was getting at, "So what does that tell you?"

        Willow sighed, "It tells me that my other self couldn't persuade Buffy to give up the key under any circumstances; that it was something too important for Buffy to sacrifice."

        At Willow’s use of the word ‘sacrifice’ the meaning hit Tara like a ton of bricks, "The Fire didn't take Dawn to get Buffy to give her the Key but because Dawn is the Key?"

        "I know it seems insane," Willow admitted, "but really it explains a lot about what's been happening."

        "Have you mentioned this to Buffy?"

        Willow was emphatic, "No, it would just make her more worried than she is now and I think she's up to her worry limit."

        Tara agreed with that, "So we'll just have to keep an extra special watch," she was going to say more but she spotted the contrail effect in the air again. She tried to blink it away but it persisted, maybe I need to get my eyes tested.



3. "Guardians"




Buffy's bed was surprisingly comfortable; even with two people tucked up in it. Willow had been a little hesitant about shacking up under Joyce’s roof again but the elder Summers had been relaxed about it, so long as they kept the noise down she had suggested. Clearly she hadn't forgotten the first time they stayed here either.

        Tara stirred beside Willow, "What time is it?" she yawned.

        Willow checked the clock, “Just about show time."

        "But not quite." Tara pointed out letting her hands stray over Willow's body.

        "As long as we keep the noise down." Willow reminded her and pulled Tara close.

       

        Dawn walked into the kitchen to find Willow, Tara, and her mom chatting. Willow and Tara were making breakfast while Joyce sat and watched. "Is Buffy gone?"

        "Elias whisked her away half an hour ago." Joyce told her with a smile.

        "I still can't believe you let her just go like that." Dawn commented as she made a grab for the orange juice carton. Tara intercepted her and thrust a glass into her hand.

        "She is an adult Dawn; and she really did need a break." Joyce scolded her mildly.

        "Besides I thought you would have been glad to not have her here. You're always complaining that she's in your face." Willow pointed out.

        In fact Dawn had expected to be happy to be out from under Buffy's eternal vigilance. Instead she found she was a little unnerved by the prospect, "Well maybe I should take a break as well."

        Willow handed her a large brown bag, "Nice try but your going," she cast a quick glance at Joyce who nodded her approval.

        Dawn muttered something under her breath but took the bag and went to get her other stuff.



        Willow was going over an English paper when Tara walked into the living room carrying a book in her hands, "I knew that was way too easy."

        “What was?” Willow asked.

        “Getting dawn out of the door,” Tara explained, “it just went way too smoothly.”

        Willow turned her full attention to Tara and the book she was carrying, “What did Dawn forget?” she sighed

        "American History 1750-1900." Tara read the title and dropped the book on the table.

        "Well if I remember which class she was complaining about last night that’s not till this afternoon." Willow wasn’t wholly sure; she had to admit that after a while she had just started tuning out what Dawn was talking about.

        Tara smiled as she had an idea, "Well then I could drop it off at lunch time."

        "That might embarrass Dawn." Willow suggested with a slightly malicious expression.

        That was precisely what Tara had in mind, “Which might make her more careful about remembering her books."

        Willow nodded, "Yes it might."



        A burst of energy had encouraged Joyce to vacuum the carpet; the vacuum cleaner had soon demonstrated its superiority and she had slumped back onto the sofa defeated. Willow walked in and handed her a cup of coffee. Joyce took it gratefully and noted Willow also had a cup, "I didn't think you drank coffee."

        "I've acquired a taste." Willow didn't really want to explain how she acquired a taste. One of the leftovers of her experience with the Fire was an increased tolerance for caffeine and Willow found she could actually enjoy it with a couple of spoonfuls of sugar.

        "I still wish I knew how you got Buffy to agree to go away, I've been telling her for a while that she needed to slow down, but she hasn’t paid any attention. You didn't put a spell on her did you?" Joyce asked jokingly.

        Not this time, "Just a matter of ganging up on her." Willow explained.

        "Well I am pleased. Hopefully now I'm getting better I can take some of the load off." Joyce halted, previously she had thought she was imagining things but this time she definitely saw something in Willow's face. "I just want you to know that whatever happens I'm grateful for the way you've supported Buffy."

        The statement was sincere but it also got a response that confirmed Joyce's suspicions, "Mrs. Summers there’s a lot of stuff we don’t tell you about, things that would just worry you without being able to do anything about them."

        "I think it's Joyce these days. And I understand that you and Buffy don't share everything with me. I even know you've seen the future." Joyce stated quietly.

        "What I saw was different." Willow desperately wanted to avoid this conversation, "I hadn't met Tara till much later and I don't think Buffy had ever met Elias."

        "I'm not asking about anything specific," Joyce reassured her, "It's just that if anything should happen it would be nice to know you and Tara would be there for Buffy and Dawn."

        Willow stared into her coffee for a moment, "There isn't enough sugar in this," she murmured and raced for the kitchen before the tears welled up in her eyes.



        Dawn's school seemed nicer than Sunnydale High to Tara. Maybe that was because it was newer or it had never known the malevolent presence of Principal Snyder. For whatever reason it seemed brighter and cheerier. That impression lasted until she spotted Dawn.

        "Look Kirsty I don't know what happened to your stuff and I wouldn't want any of your skanky junk in the first place!" Dawn insisted hotly.

        Kirsty and friends looked distinctly unimpressed, "Yeah well I don't believe it. I'm missing a lipstick and a bracelet and a letter. There's only one person I know whose so jealous she would start stealing."

        Dawn was about to explain exactly how she felt about, mostly by tearing Kirsty's hair out, when a familiar voice halted her, "Is everything alright?"

        Dawn was surprised and pleased to see Tara. She was going to ask the obvious question when she spotted the book in Tara's hand, "Oh I forgot to take that this morning."

        "Yes you did," Tara tried to scold Dawn but couldn't help smiling at the same time, "But what exactly is going on here?"

        Dawn saw an opportunity to put Kirsty on the spot, "Well Cordy, Kirsty seems to have lost some stuff."

        Tara didn't miss the subtle jibe about the blonde girl. Physically she didn't resemble Cordelia but there was a look on her face that was all too familiar. Though Tara had heard that Cordy had changed a lot since she went to LA she had a hard time imagining it, "So Kirsty was asking for your help in finding them?"

        Kirsty was beginning to feel awkward and uncomfortable; which was how other people were meant to feel, not her. There was something in the way this Tara person looked at her that made Kirsty feel like the woman could see right through her.

        As Kirsty muttered something about it being a mistake Tara handed the book to Dawn, "if everything is ok here I better be going, Willow is making lunch."

        "Can't go an hour without seeing her can you?" It was a typical teasing comment from Dawn and she felt like biting her tongue off after she said it because Kirsty's expression said she got the meaning behind the comment as well.

        That was confirmed when Kirsty clearly muttered a word under her breath. It was four lettered and while it might be an acceptable description of Tara in certain circles Kirsty certainly didn't mean it as a compliment. This time Dawn really was going to commit mayhem on Kirsty. Again she was thwarted as a body was interposed between them, "I do hope you weren't planning to lay hands on Kirsty Dawn."

        "No Miss Thomas." Dawn declared unconvincingly.

        The teacher was in her early thirties, slender and fair-haired, with large dark eyes and right now a stern expression on her face, "I'm so glad to hear that. On the other hand Kirsty I'm quite certain what I heard you say and it isn't the sort of language we use in this school." Kirsty remained silent; she had enough brains to know nothing she could say was going to get her off the hook.

        Tara suspected that Kirsty would find some way to work off her discomfort on Dawn and thus it would be better to defuse things right now, "I really don't think we need to make to big a deal of this. I'm sure Kirsty didn’t mean it as an insult." And you better never use it as one again.

        Kirsty looked startled; she could have sworn Tara spoke that last part without moving her lips. Something about it compelled Kirsty to agree, "It really was just a mistake."

        Miss Thomas looked dubious but decided it would be better to let it go, "Alright both of you go and have lunch."

        The two girls nodded and walked away. Dawn looked back over her shoulder, "Thanks for the book Tara."

        The teacher hadn't caught Tara's name previously, "You're Tara? Dawn has spoken a lot about you."

        "Really?" Tara was concerned about what sort of things Dawn might have been discussing.

        "Well to be honest she makes you and your friend Willow sound rather superhuman." Miss Thomas replied; her expression was amused rather than concerned.

        "Willow is kind of special to me, but we're just ordinary people really." Apart from the magic and the demon fighting.

        "I'm sure. Anyway I do have to go get some lunch." Miss Thomas explained.

        "Me too. Thanks for sorting out that situation." Tara was about to turn and walk away when she saw them; the same streaks she had seen earlier, only this time she saw them form and swirl around in the air. Whatever they were they weren’t an optical illusion or the product of failing eyesight. They were real and definitely not part of the normal order of things.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 4/26/03 4:20:32 pm
Sheridan
 


Reality Check 14: Long Weekend Pt2

Postby Sheridan » Sat Apr 26, 2003 5:31 pm

4. "Friends And Family"




Walking away from the high school Tara began to concentrate and saw there were traces of the streaks all around her. There was nothing sinister about them as such but Tara knew that this being Sunnydale they were unlikely to be of the good.

        Willow was shoving a plate into the microwave when she felt Tara's thoughts in her head, Honey I think we have a problem.

        Dawn isn't in trouble is she?
Willow knew they would never live it down if Dawn got suspended from school on their watch.

        Nothing like that, more the usual sort of problem., Tara sort of reassured her, I think we should meet up at the Magic Box and do some research.

        Willow thought about it, Joyce is taking a rest upstairs so I think I can sneak out for an hour or so.

        Ok I'll see you there, and honey? Could you bring some sandwiches?
Tara pleaded.



        Nibbling at a chicken sandwich while looking over a volume wasn't going to make Giles happy but Tara didn't really care, she was hungry and other people had done worse to these books over the years, "Is that ok?" Willow asked pointing at the sandwich.

        "It's fine." Tara murmured around a mouthful.

        "I've never teleported food before, I wasn't sure what would happen to it." Willow explained.

        Tara knew it wasn't the sandwich Willow was worried about scrambling. Willow had developed a theory that all the teleporting around she had done had contributed to her problems with the Fire, that in some way it had messed with her brain and so she had decided to strictly ration her teleporting, "I'm perfectly certain that it the chicken was completely unharmed by the trip."

        "Maybe you could set up your own delivery firm Will, guaranteed instant delivery." Xander suggested.

        Willow gave him a sour look and he shut up. She turned back to her computer. Getting a new one had required a traumatic meeting with her parents and a not so small fib to the insurance company but she had managed it and was painfully rebuilding her bookmarks and passwords. It had only taken an hour one evening to get back into the police mainframe; it was taking rather longer to get through all the current police reports, "It looks like Sunnydale is in the middle of a crime wave."

        That got Anya's attention, "Does that include the stuff you stole?"

        Willow was irritated but decided to answer, "I'm not counting the stuff the Fire took. Someone seems to have a taste for furs, jewelry and firearms."

        "That's a strange combination." Giles commented, "It doesn't seem to fit together."

        Tara disagreed, "I think it does, I saw the streaks here and when Kirsty was complaining about her things being missing. Whatever the motivation is I think it's all the same thing."

        "Even if I accept the connection," and Giles tone suggested he wasn't entirely convinced, "that still leaves us looking for the who and the why."

        Taking the hint Willow and Tara turned their attention back to the books, though Tara had the feeling the answer to Giles questions wasn't in them.



        The M-16 rifle lay untouched on the marble table, "Hard to believe that is truly a weapon." The words came from a figure seated in a large throne.

        "I can assure you it is, and far more potent than we have seen before." The reply came from a cloaked figure standing behind the table. In truth he was far from happy about the M-16 himself. Having seen it in operation it seemed inelegant and ugly. He was however a pragmatist, prepared to sacrifice elegance for effectiveness.

        "And we have acquired many of these?" The figure in the throne asked.

        "These and other such weapons yes. More than enough for our purposes." It was intended as a subtle nudge.

        The figure on the throne didn't see it that way and his response was petulant, "We will remain here until such time as I deem fit. Simply acquiring new arms is not the same as being able to use them."

        The cloaked figure knew there was truth in that but he also knew there were other reasons why they were remaining here, "So this is not about a desire to fill the treasury, and other places?"

        "You are not indispensable." Came the angry reply.

        The cloaked figure was unmoved, "Indeed. Then perhaps you could introduce me to some potential replacement; I could certainly use an assistant."

        The figure on the throne decided to take the hostility down a notch or two as his bluff had been effectively called, "You are valuable to me but remember who serves whom here. We proceed according to my wishes do we not?"

        The cloaked figure nodded in reluctant agreement. He was certain that they were wearing out their welcome and that trouble was looming; he simply wasn't sure of the source.



        Dawn was late and in a hurry. The after school arts club was something she had signed up for in a burst of enthusiasm for drawing and painting. With Buffy away Dawn had considered skipping this weeks class and going home. Maybe she could take advantage of Buffy’s absence to get involved with the gang, even if it was only doing research. Her mom however not to mention Willow and Tara, had been adamant that she should just carry on as normal and Willow and Tara had backed her up. Dawn knew that was simply a round about way of telling her to keep out from under their feet.

        As she rounded the corner Dawn spotted Miss Thomas walking in the same direction about twenty feet ahead. Dawn came to a halt; she liked Miss Thomas but after today’s run in with her she was loathe to speak to the teacher again in case she put her foot in it once more. Dawn was afraid that when the subject turned to Willow and Tara she was apt to let her enthusiasm get the better of her and talk about things that would get her an interview with the school counsellor.

        The teacher also came to a halt in the corridor and Dawn wondered if she had been spotted. The teacher though appeared to be listening to something with her head cocked to one side; then she turned in a slow circle staring intently at every corner of the corridor. Dawn ducked back out of sight. It was all Dawn could do not to giggle at this peculiar performance.

        Dawn's amusement faded as she stuck her head out again and saw a shocked expression form on Miss Thomas' face. The woman opened her mouth and appeared to scream. It was hard to be sure since no sound came out of her mouth. As Dawn watched the teacher raised her hands in a defensive gesture and then faded away leaving an empty corridor. Dawn marched out and waved her hands around. There was nothing there; Miss Thomas was totally gone.



        Willow and Tara had managed to get home before Joyce got up and had maintained the illusion that they hadn't been away; it didn't seem fair to burden her with what was just another magical crisis in a long line of them. Willow was walking past the phone when it rang and she scooped it up, more or less expecting it to be Buffy checking up on them, "Is that Mrs. Summers?"

        The voice wasn't familiar and Willow decided to hedge, "She isn't available right now, can I help?"

        "This is detective Lomax. There's been an incident at the High School and we need someone to collect her daughter Dawn." The detective sounded laconic.

        Willow's heart was in her mouth but she had to remain calm in case Joyce overheard, "Is it serious?"

        Now the detective sounded uncertain, "I think confused is the more appropriate word."

        That made Willow relax a little. Confused was certainly better than 'tragic', or 'disastrous', "We'll be there as soon as possible."

        Tara was equally concerned when Willow explained the call to her, "If Dawn is ok I don't think we should tell Joyce until we know what's going on."

        "I guess so." Willow sighed, "I guess we really are walking in Buffy's shoes right now; spending our time worrying about Dawn and keeping things from her mom."

        Tara nodded, "And we still have three days to go," she pointed out ominously.

        Willow could feel a weight settling on her shoulders, "I could go and fetch Dawn while you stay here."

        Tara considered that, No I think we should both go," she didn't have anything concrete to go on but Tara had a strong hunch that whatever had happened at the school connected with the rest of the strangeness and she needed to see it for herself.



        Dawn was sat outside the principal’s office and the woman’s concerned attitude said that the detective had been truthful; Dawn wasn't in trouble. As soon as she saw Willow and Tara Dawn leapt up and rushed over, "I'm so glad you're here."

        Before she could explain further a detective appeared. Willow knew he was a detective because it was the same man who had investigated the break in at the Magic Box. The detective clearly recognized Willow and regarded her with hesitation, "Do you know these people?" The question was directed at Dawn.

        "They're looking after me this weekend." Dawn explained.

        The detective didn't look happy about that. Willow decided to bypass the awkwardness with a direct question, "What precisely happened here?"

        The detective seemed relieved to be on familiar ground, "The girl reported seeing the abduction of a teacher here. Apparently dragged away by a couple of masked figures though the details are a little vague," his manner implied that he was being generous in that description, "there is corroboration in that this teacher, a Miss Thomas, has left her car and other possessions here. All efforts to locate her have so far failed."

        Willow could tell from Dawn's expression that she was keeping something from the detective, "Do you need Dawn for anything else?"

        "Not right now but we might need to speak to her later." The detective advised them. Willow nodded her thanks and hustled Dawn out of his earshot.

        "So what really happened?" Tara asked as soon as they had a little privacy.

        "Miss Thomas really did disappear and I mean disappear, she just faded out in front of my eyes." Dawn explained succinctly.

        "So what was that story about her being grabbed?" Willow wanted to know.

        Dawn looked embarrassed, "I guess I panicked a little; I had to tell someone what happened and then I had to come up with a story."

        Tara patted her on the shoulder consolingly, "It must have been pretty freaky. Can you show us exactly where it happened?"

        Dawn was a little hesitant but with the two witches for company she decided she was safe enough.

        Tara stared at the spot where the teacher had disappeared. The streaks were clear and there was something else, sort of an afterimage of a human aura. Tara couldn't shake the impression that it had gone somewhere; no, that it had shifted. "I think I know what happened to the teacher and what the streaks are," she announced before hurrying Willow and Dawn out of the school.



5. "Peacekeeping"




On the way back to the Summers house Dawn pestered Tara to explain and Willow felt like doing the same. Tara was adamant that the only way to know if she was right was to do some practical testing and she didn't want to discuss it in the street.

        As soon as the front door closed Dawn's badgering redoubled. Joyce was sat on the sofa with a book, "Dawn what's the matter?" She was on her feet looking tired and worried.

        Willow shot Dawn an anxious look but the teen wasn't going to worry her mom, "Willow and Tara were talking about magic and I wanted them to teach me some stuff but they said no as usual."

        "And they were absolutely right." Joyce trusted Willow and Tara; however the power they had demonstrated could be scary sometimes.

        "We wouldn't involve her in anything without you knowing." Willow reassured Joyce. It was perfectly true; they weren't responsible for getting Dawn into whatever this was. The girl had managed that all by herself.

        The problem that threw up became clear when Willow and Tara retreated upstairs and Dawn trailed after them. They could hardly insist that she keep out of this when she was their only eyewitness.

        As they walked into Buffy's bedroom the other temporary resident of the Summers house broke away from the ball she was tormenting and fixed her gaze on Willow and Tara. Miss Kitty Fantastico meowed a couple of times and then turned her attention back to the ball. "I think she knows more magic than I do," Dawn complained pointing at the cat, "the way she's always disappearing."

        Willow looked puzzled, "What are you talking about?"

        "The way Miss Kitty kind of vanishes for weeks at a time and then just pops up." Dawn told her.

        Willow stroked the cat’s ears, "You're just imagining things Dawn, she’s always around somewhere."

        Tara sat on the bed and listened to the byplay for a moment, "Will can you do the phasing spell now?"

        As soon as Tara asked Willow saw where she was going, "Yeah it's pretty straightforward, when you know what you're doing." The last was firmly directed at Dawn.

        Dawn had no idea what the 'phasing spell' was. She simply saw Tara perched on the edge of the bed and Willow stood near the doorway, and then Willow faded out, "That's what I saw!" she cried out excitedly.

        Tara wasn't paying attention to Dawn; she was concentrating on the vanishing Willow. There was the same after image effect and she saw a streak zigzagging across the bedroom before Willow reappeared next to Miss Kitty Fantastico's litter tray.

        "So that was it right?" Willow demanded eagerly.

        Tara nodded, "It's exactly what I've been seeing."

        "So we're dealing with someone whose phasing to steal stuff." Willow mused.

        "A lot of someone’s from all the streaks I saw." Tara corrected her.

        Willow didn't reply as she mused on what that might mean and Tara gave her some room to think.

        Dawn looked from one to the other, "So now you know what they’re doing why don't you just stop them?"

        Willow and Tara were both startled by the vehemence of Dawn's remark, "It isn't that simple Dawn." Willow commented quietly.

        Dawn wasn't going to be put off, "Well couldn't you cancel this spell out? Get Miss Thomas back and stop these people stealing?"

        "You mean in the whole of Sunnydale?" Tara was shocked.

        Willow thought about the idea for a second, "In theory it might be possible," she announced. Willow didn't see Tara's concerned expression but she did see the look of triumph on Dawn's face, "There is no way I'm going to try it though."

        Now Tara turned around with an expression of relief and Dawn look crestfallen, "Why not?"

        Willow raised her fingers to tick off points, "Someone could materialize in a wall; which could be just messy or could cause a huge explosion. It could accidentally phase the whole of Sunnydale out of the universe. It could open the Hellmouth. And even if it worked properly I don't want to mess with that sort of power."

        "This is about the Fire isn't it?" Dawn seemed undeterred, "Willow even if she looked like you she wasn't really like you," she exuded huge confidence in her reassurance and didn't understand the pained looks she got in return.

        As hard as it was Willow knew that she had to settle this right now, "Dawn that was me; a part of me mixed with the Fire and not a very nice part. The worst part actually."

        Dawn refused to believe that until she looked at the deadly serious expressions on Willow and Tara's faces. Even then Dawn had a hard time imagining Willow having a bad side so she stumbled on regardless, "But it’s gone now, you don't have to worry about it anymore, right?"

        "No I don't," Willow confirmed, "I just have to worry about getting carried away and doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Trust me if you misuse it magic will get even with you."

        Dawn didn't like it but the pain in Willow's voice stopped her from asking about it any further, "So what are we going to do?"

        Now Willow threw off the gloom and smiled, "Oh we're going to find these people and make them give your teacher back."

        Dawn and Tara both smiled back at Willow's assurance, "We just have to know where they're going to be." Tara pointed out, "The streaks just tell us where they were."

        Dawn came back with an idea before Willow could utter a word, "I know. Where in Sunnydale is there the most stuff to steal?" Dawn saw that she was getting some hard looks, "Hey I just meant in theory."



        Catherine Thomas was lying down hoping her headache was going to go away. Several people she knew had advised her against taking a job in Sunnydale; though when pressed they seemed reluctant to go into details. Catherine had therefore visited the town for her interview with some trepidation, expecting some gang ridden ghetto. Finding instead a clean, middle class, suburban community she been surprised and delighted, obviously her acquaintances had been thinking of a different Sunnydale, this was a nice, safe town.

        Even the odd disappearances and the fate of the towns other high school hadn't really troubled her. There were plenty of places where worse happened, unless you were willing to listen to the more outlandish rumours about what was behind the disappearances that did the rounds. Catherine had firmly believed that all those stories proved was that a significant drug culture existed in Sunnydale.

        That belief had lasted right up until that afternoon in the corridor. Try as she might Catherine couldn't recover any further details. She had been standing in the corridor when she felt an odd tingling sensation and was surrounded by blurry shapes. The next thing she was waking up here. 'Here' was in itself a little strange. The room was sort of medieval with banners and weapons on the walls. The bed was rather opulent, though its image was spoiled by the price tag from one of Sunnydale's more expensive furniture stores still attached to it. There were any number of ordinary, if unpleasant explanations for the décor;, somehow they didn’t seem very likely right now.

        What defied explanation was what had happened when Catherine tried to go more than a couple of feet from the bed; she had simply run into some sort of invisible barrier. It wasn't glass or plastic but it was definitely there.

        Catherine turned her attention to the dress hanging next to the bed. It was clingy and just about knee length. It was perfectly clear someone expected her to put it on. If she were planning a hot date it would have been perfect; right now it was just disturbing.

        The teacher lay back on the bed and folded her arms; there was no way she was going to co-operate with these people. She was simply going to remain right here until someone came to the rescue. Catherine tried not to think about how long that might be.



        The hooded figure swept his hand over the mirror and the image of Catherine disappeared. Taking her was a huge mistake of that he was sure. The locals had such a wealth of possessions that they could hardly become greatly agitated at the loss of a few of them. When people started disappearing that was unlikely to be ignored or shrugged off.

        The figure picked up one of the volumes that had been taken from the Magic Box. The books were something of a mixed lot and there were a few other items that had been seized more for their aesthetic value than their inherent power. That these people had some grasp of magic he had no doubt. The nagging question was just how much power could they muster?



6. "Babysitting"




After Dawn reduced her explanation to words of one syllable Willow and Tara had set out for the mall. It was as Dawn had suggested the place with 'the most stuff to steal'. Tara knew they were on the right track as soon as they walked in the doors; there were streaks all over the place. They crossed through one another and flowed into every store in the mall as far as Tara could tell, "We're in the right place," she assured Willow.

        "Guess we better find a quiet place, don't want to freak out the shoppers." Willow responded.

        The only quiet place was the rest rooms, though quiet was a strictly relative term as they had to crowd into a single cubicle. That drew a certain amount of attention but nothing like what they would have generated by vanishing in front of a crowd of people. As soon as they shifted Willow braced herself to walk through the door. Even after a couple of experiences with it the sensation of passing through a solid object still freaked her out.

        Tara didn't enjoy the sensation anymore than Willow did and she focused at first on dodging people. The idea of walking through a person made her especially queasy. Finding a pillar they could lurk behind the couple could relax a little and keep watch. It didn't take long for a couple of blurry blobs to catch their eye, "Just like the thing we saw in the Magic Box." Willow muttered.

        "Yeah but we can't really tell who or what they are." Tara responded, squinting as she tried to bring the entities into focus.

        "There are different levels of phasing, we're not quite in synch with them." Willow explained, at least that was her interpretation of the texts she had read on the subject.

        "Can you, you know put us in synch?" Tara was nervous about messing with the spell; she also knew however that if anyone could do it then Willow was that person.

        Willow nodded and slipped her hand into Tara's as she concentrated on the magic, trying to nudge the energy into a slightly different shape from the one it currently occupied. She pushed it slowly trying to bring themselves into line with the blobs. It was sort of like moving a TV aerial around to improve the picture. All of a sudden Willow found she had a crystal clear image and she didn't like it.

        Tara looked at the blobs as they slid into focus. She had expected some person messing with magic or a new breed of demon; this was something entirely else. The figure were male, tall, slender, and had distinctly pointed ears, "They're elves!" Tara breathed the words excitedly and then noticed that Willow had her teeth clenched, "What's the matter honey?"

        Willow's tone was grim, "I hate elves."

        Tara was startled, "I didn't know you had ever met any."

        "I haven't," Willow admitted, "They just stir up bad memories." Willow could see that Tara expected her to go on, "I was seven and a girl in my class was having a fancy dress party. Somehow my mom decided I should go as an elf."

        Tara tried to visualise that, "Well I think you would have looked cute." Elfin was a descriptive Tara had sometimes thought could apply to Willow; she was glad she had never mentioned it.

        "Maybe it would have been," Willow conceded, "But my mom wanted to be authentic 'and elves have pointed ears'." Willow's voice became a fair imitation of her mothers, "She must have gotten then from some Star Trek kit; these cheesy plastic Mr. Spock ears. I had to wear them to the party and everybody stared."

        Tara didn't have to imagine the humiliation; her family had embarrassed her often enough when she was young, "So that turned you against elves?"

        "I couldn't even read Lord of the Rings." Willow confirmed.

        "Well now you can get even." Tara meant it as a joke but the grim expression on Willow's face made her feel a little sorry for their targets.



        The elf was examining a display of crossbows in the sporting goods store. They were all state of the art weapons with scopes and composite construction. They were radically different from the weapons the elves favoured but they were bows nonetheless. The elven warrior was tempted to take one back with him, orders were quite clear however; they were to concentrate strictly on firearms. He turned to his comrade who was examining some fencing gear. They exchanged a nod of understanding and walked out of the store.

        Neither of the warriors was paying attention to the redheaded girl stood next to the entrance, so neither of them noticed the foot she stuck out until it tumbled one of them to the ground, "Sorry about that," Willow offered in mock apology, "it was kind of mean but I figured it would be easier to talk with you down there and me up here."

        It was a credit to their discipline that the warrior who remained standing didn't freeze. He drew his sword and closed with Willow; only to drop the blade as Tara hit it with a bolt that sent a shock through the elf's whole body. He spun around to see the blonde watching him closely. The elf on the ground was trying to struggle to his feet. Willow waved her hand and his feet were dragged out from under him, "I didn't say you could get up."

        The standing elf moved towards his fallen comrade and Tara moved closer to him, "We want you to return the woman you kidnapped, and then leave Sunnydale." Tara wanted to sound threatening but she was too nervous.

        The display of magic from the couple was enough to unnerve the elves. The standing one threw something at Willow who ducked to avoid what turned out to be a bottle of aftershave. As she was distracted the elf pulled his companion to his feet and they broke into a run. Willow was tempted to zap them again but for the moment she was content to let them tell their comrades what had happened, it might make them think twice about any more stealing and kidnapping.

        Willow was considering following them at a discrete distance when Tara pointed at a clock on the wall, "I don't think we should leave Joyce and Dawn any longer."

        Willow agreed, "We can track them down when we need to, and it wouldn't hurt to do some research first."



        The phasing spell was dropped after the pair managed to weave their way out of the mall and as it happened they returned to the Summers house not a moment to soon. Dawn was preparing to cook. As Willow took care of supervising and restraining Dawn Tara went to check on Joyce. The woman was on her bed resting with her eyes closed. Tara found there was a lump in her throat until she saw Joyce take a breath.

        Joyce sensed the presence in the room and opened her eyes, "Tara is everything alright?"

        "Pretty much, we got to Dawn before she could use the oven." Tara reassured her.

        Joyce laughed, "I love my girls but their domestic skills are non-existent. I don't think the place has really been tidy since you moved out."

        Tara was embarrassed, "I just wanted to do my share. And it wasn't that easy when I was here."

        "You mean discovering that you and Willow were more than just friends?" Joyce remembered exactly how she had found out and from the way Tara blushed she was recalling the same thing, "It was a surprise and I have to admit I did think it was just a phase Willow was going through. Oh god now I sound like Sheila."

        Tara smiled at the mention of Willow's mother. Sheila still seemed to entertain the belief that Willow would some how 'get over' being gay. Even the announcement of their engagement hadn't shaken her, "You were very good to us, I don't think Willow would even be speaking to her parents without you."

        "Well by then I could see that you two were serious and I didn't want to see Sheila and Ira lose contact with their daughter." Joyce looked pained as she recalled Buffy's disappearance, and then smiled as she recalled who had brought her home, "It sort of balanced out, after Los Angeles. I know I can count on you to watch out for Buffy and Dawn."

        "We will," Tara, blurted out, "I mean we'll be here for you as well."

        Joyce smiled, "That's sweet of you but you don't really need to worry about me."

        Tara wasn't sure how to take that. It could just be a casual remark or it could mean something much deeper, an acceptance of what was to come. Unable to frame an answer Tara just nodded and made for the stairs.

        Willow wasn't the only one who had looked up healing spells. Tara had however come to same conclusion; they were all too dark and too dangerous and Joyce wouldn't want them to take those kinds of risks, make those kinds of, literal, sacrifices.

        Nonetheless Willow could see Tara was brooding as she reached the bottom of the stairs, "Is everything ok baby?"

        Tara nodded uncertainly, "As much as it was before I went up there."

        "I know," Willow sighed, "but we'll do our best to make things work out, right?"

        Tara slid an arm around Willow, "Yes we will."

        Dawn called out from the kitchen, "Willow is that steam coming out of the oven?"

        Willow disentangled herself from Tara; "Of course certain people don't make it easy."

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Reality Check 14: Long Weekend Pt3

Postby Sheridan » Sat Apr 26, 2003 5:34 pm

7. "Guardians"




The dinner dishes had made their way to the sink when Giles and Anya arrived. Giles was in a positively gleeful mood as they made room for him on the sofa, "Even now Sunnydale is capable of throwing up a surprise or two."

        "Yeah always some new demony thing turning up." Willow responded sourly.

        "Elves aren't demons, they are a totally separate race, as different from demons as humans are." Giles corrected her without any loss of enthusiasm.

        "They just go around looting, pillaging, and kidnapping." Tara pointed out in support of Willow.

        That did make a dent in Giles' attitude, "Well I must admit that the records don't really explain that behaviour."

        Now Anya piped up, "Oh I can explain that." Everyone turned towards her, "Elves like everyone to think their all noble and aloof, they even got some writer to do PR for them, wrote some book with rings and stuff in it."

        "Tolkien?" Giles asked, taken aback by the implication.

        "That was the guy.” Anya confirmed blythely, “The truth is that there are a whole bunch of elf clans that are always fighting one another. When they lose they usually just retreat back to their castles and lick their wounds. If they get really badly beaten they go somewhere else."

        "They yank open a portal and come here." Willow clarified.

        "That pretty much covers it," Anya agreed, "staying out of phase with everything else means they can go on a serious shopping spree, without paying for anything of course." Anya looked profoundly disapproving of that and only added as an afterthought, "They have been known to take humans who meet their standards of physical attractiveness. Though those are pretty dumb if you ask me, I mean too short, I’m almost..." Anya trailed off as she saw the looks she was getting.

        Giles' enthusiasm was waning as he listened to Anya's explanation, "I didn't mean to imply that they were behaving acceptably. We must of course get this teacher back and put a stop to the crime wave."

        Willow was already thinking through a plan, "The only way to do that is to send them back where they came from, after we get Miss Thomas back."

        "They aren't going to be easily persuaded to go before they have everything they want." Giles noted.

        "I wasn't thinking of asking them," Willow responded, "I was thinking of closing the door on their portal and locking it with them on the other side."

        Willow's comments made Giles uneasy. Buffy had told him that the witches were aware of Dawn's true nature. He couldn't believe that Willow would really expose the teenager to the risk of discovery but the talk of doors and locks was an uncomfortable analogy, "What precisely did you have in mind to achieve that?"

        Willow guessed what was worrying him, "What I had in mind is sitting in the basement of the Magic Box. It's blue, egg shaped, and has a big crack in it."

        "The tuning crystal." Giles couldn't help giving a sigh of relief as he understood what Willow had in mind.



        The two warriors stood in meeting chamber looking at their feet, staring their lord in the face would be ill judged at the best of times. At this moment it would be an invitation to execution.

        The same could be said of trying to lie or hedge the truth given that the wizard was in attendance, "These women were unarmed?" The lord's tone was icy.

        "With magic sire, they were certainly armed with magic." The senior of the warriors reiterated the point as boldly as he dared.

        His comrade rather undermined his resolution by whining, "They took us by surprise, the humans weren't supposed to have magic."

        The whine actually did some good as the lord looked at the wizard archly, "That does not fully excuse your behaviour, though it does offer some mitigation. You will both be reduced in rank and assigned to gate duty for a month."

        Since the punishment fell far short of the worst they had feared the warriors made sincere statements of gratitude and hastily departed. After they were gone the wizard became fascinated with the wall hangings, studiously avoiding eye contact with his lord, "Have you nothing to say?" The noble finally demanded.

        Now the wizard focused his attention on his ruler, "I believe my position is quite clear."

        "We will not be driven off by one minor incident. I refuse to believe that we are threatened by a couple of humans who know a few conjuring tricks." The Lord’s stand hadn’t changed one iota.

        "As I recall you didn't believe the Lord of Cronat could march his troops through the Darkhammer forest, but he did." In truth no one had believed an army could pass through that place, except for the Lord of Cronat of course, however the reminder might puncture his lordship's arrogance.

        The silky tone of the lord's reply said otherwise, "That was a military matter; here we're discussing magic. Are you saying these human's skill is beyond yours?"

        "Of course not." The reply was out of the wizard’s mouth before he could think about it.

        The lord smiled, "Then I see nothing for us to fear as you will doubtless deal with them if the need arises."

        The wizard nodded stiffly. He had allowed his pride to lead him into a childish trap, and yet what else could he have said? The wizard was one of the most potent mages of his generation; only his magic had rescued them after the disastrous battle with Cronat. The idea that a pair of humans who had grown up in this mechanistic realm could match one who had grown up steeped in magic was somewhat ridiculous. Even with that consoling thought the knot in his stomach refused to untie itself.



        Giles looked pointedly at his watch as Xander and Anya arrived. Xander's expression was apologetic but Anya looked defiant. As far she was concerned this was a huge inconvenience and he had better not complain.

        Dawn forestalled any discussion of their tardiness, "I still think I should be able to go along, Xander and Anya can stay with mom."

        Giles turned to her, "Dawn you must understand that we can't put you in this sort of peril." His explanation didn't get any further because as he was speaking he had made to pat Dawn on the shoulder and instead found it twisted up behind his back in a very awkward position, "I can take care of myself." Dawn announced proudly.

        Willow was impressed with the speed and dexterity Dawn displayed but there was no way she could admit that, "Dawn please let him go."

        Dawn released Giles who rubbed his shoulder gingerly, "Where did you learn to do that?"

        "Elias showed me some self defence moves, and he said I was a good student." Dawn explained, still sounding pleased with herself.

        "You have to understand Dawn this is about safety." Tara could see no one had a response to Dawn's insistence.

        "I would be just as safe as any of you out there."

        Tara smiled, "I didn't mean that, I meant we won't be safe from Buffy if she found out we took you."

        "She did try and shoot me with a crossbow when she thought I had kidnapped you." Willow agreed. She could see Tara's approach was getting through to Dawn.

        Dawn's expression had turned distinctly grumpy, "Ok, ok, but I am going to sort this out with Buffy once and for all when she gets back." With that she flounced up the stairs.



        As Willow and Tara belted up in the back seat of the car Willow voiced the feelings she had kept quiet in the house, "The whole 'you're too young', 'it's too dangerous', thing isn't going to work much longer."

        Giles gazed at Willow in the rear view mirror, "Perhaps but what choice do we have?"

        "We could try telling her the truth, about where she came from, why we can't let her anywhere near the bad guys." Willow suggested.

        "I'm not convinced that would actually make matters any better." Giles replied, not very convincingly.

        Tara knew that Giles had a point but so did Willow, "Dawn will find out sooner or later, and sooner might be better."

        Giles nodded and started the engine, he knew the witches were right; he simply couldn't bear the thought of adding yet another burden to his Slayer's shoulders.       



8. "In The Beginning"




"I think I've spent way too much time here lately." Tara complained light heartedly.

        "How do you think I feel?" Giles muttered, just loudly enough to be sure he was overheard.

        Willow smiled, "Well I'm sorry but I'm sure this is where the crystal was, or will be, or would have been," she began to get confused trying to sort out the proper tense.

        Giles was also having something of a hard time with the concept. He had accepted the fact that Willow had traveled through time and that her daughter had done the same. It was something else to be searching through his own basement on the basis that this was where some alternate version of himself had left the tuning crystal.

        "I wish you could remember where you actually put the crystal." Willow commented.

        "I do know where I put it," Giles replied defensively, "Anya has however done a lot of rearranging since then so I'm simply not certain where it is now." As he made his excuses Giles spotted a familiar looking box. Opening it he found an object wrapped in an equally familiar piece of cloth, “I've found it.”

        As the couple gratefully abandoned their search and joined him Giles gingerly handed the bundle to Willow. She removed the cloth to reveal an unimpressive looking egg shaped chunk of blue crystal. It wouldn't even have fetched a good price as a curio given the scorched and twisted crack that ran down one side of it. Willow let a finger trace along the outline of the scar in the stone and Giles looked ever more nervous, “Perhaps you shouldn't do that, it seems rather fragile.”

        Willow smiled and shook her head, “It's good for about another twenty years at the very least,” she couldn't keep the smile from getting wider. The tuning crystal had brought her and Tara together; it had allowed her to meet LJ for the first time. Willow almost regarded the carved rock as a friend.

        Giles remained nervous, “Nonetheless you should be careful; we wouldn't want it 'going off' accidentally. After all since it can bend space and time I would say it's even more potent than the Fire.”

        Willow's smile disappeared as it finally clicked what was really making Giles so nervous; “You think I'm just doing this to get my hands on the power of the tuning crystal.”

        “Not at all,” Giles replied unconvincingly, “I agree that it may be the only power that can drive the elves out.”

        “Just like the Fire was the only way to save Tara in Quincy.” Willow suggested archly.

        The fact Willow seemed to be reading his mind didn't make Giles feel any less jittery, “You did start out then with the best of intentions.”

        Willow felt a surge of anger and humiliation. She turned to Tara and thrust the crystal towards her, “Here maybe you better have it.”

        Tara folded her arms across her chest, “You've had more experience with the crystal than I have and I can't think of any reason why you shouldn't be the one to look after it.” Her gaze was fixed on Giles as she spoke and it conveyed an overwhelming sense of how could you? “Just because someone makes a mistake with magic doesn't mean they have to keep living it down for ever.”

        It was Giles turn to feel mortified and guilty. Tara had hit her target dead on. Willow was not the first person in this room to have abused magical power; his own teenage arrogance about the mystical powers had come back to haunt him and very nearly destroy him. He had been allowed to prove himself; to show that he had learned from his mistakes, how could he offer less to Willow now? “Tara is quite right, you are the best qualified to use that the crystal. It's just, well, be careful. I really don't want anything happening to either of you.”

        Willow put the smile back on her face; “I promise I have every intention of coming back and putting this thing back where we found it.”



        There were fewer streaks to be seen on the street outside the Magic Box, probably because like the magic shop the rest of the stores on the street were closed for the night or possibly their earlier run in had produced the desired effect. Tara realized that latter was more likely. After all in their phased state the elves could go into the stores any time they liked, unless they were as queasy about walking through walls as she was.

        Willow had carefully tucked the crystal into her shoulder bag, letting it nestle in amongst the other magical supplies she had brought along. She was walking a couple of paces behind Tara letting her girlfriend concentrate on spotting the trails of the elves. The word still grated every time she thought of it,

        “I think we should head this way.” Tara announced pointing off to the right.

        “The mall is in the opposite direction.” Willow had theorized that was the most likely place for them to open up their portal and establish their base of operations.

        “I know but the streaks seem to be going that way. Maybe they couldn't control where the portal opened up.” Tara suggested.

        Willow accepted that, “Which could meant that their magic isn't as good as all that.”

        “Can't hurt to hope.” Tara replied distractedly.

        "And they probably haven't gotten carried away with it either." Willow added.

        Tara switched her full attention to Willow, "Honey I meant exactly what I said, I trust you and it isn't just because I'm in love with you. I've seen how you changed after what happened with the fire." Tara could see how unnerved Willow was getting, "Now if you could just get over this irrational hatred of elves that would be real progress."

        Willow cuffed her playfully on the shoulder and Tara chuckled.



        The pair were heading in the right direction, at least according to the density of the streaks Tara could see, "Well at least they aren't down the sewers." Willow was doing her best to be cheerful despite being footsore from walking across half of Sunnydale.

        "I think we're getting close." Tara observed.

        "Might be time to try the phasing spell then."

        Tara nodded, "Sounds good to me."

        Usually when they shifted out of phase the only sign was a little dizziness and a momentary blurring of their surroundings. This time there was something else, something that formed out of thin air and occupied a big chunk of the horizon, "Did I miss hearing about a theft at Disney world?" Willow asked disbelievingly. She was staring at a set of ornate turrets that rose over the more mundane buildings of Sunnydale.

        Tara thought it looked a little too forbidding for Cinderella's castle but she saw Willow's point. Getting closer the couple could seethe full extent of the fortress and the way it seemed to slice through the surrounding buildings was disconcerting to say the least, "I take back what I said about their magic skills." Willow found she had to swallow a lump that had appeared in her throat.

        "Remember size isn't everything honey." Tara joked and Willow couldn't help laughing at the incongruity of it.

"Maybe, but the brought a whole castle through a portal, that is kind of impressive." Willow reminded her.

        "Unless it was pushed through; remember what Anya said about the elves fighting."

        Willow thought about it, "So the castle could have been sent through by the winners; sort of saying get out and stay out?"

        "It's as likely as them bringing it here, more likely maybe." Tara was convincing herself as much as Willow.

        Willow decided that it did make more sense. This was clearly not some fairy tale enchanted castle. It was a working fortress designed to fight battles and maintain control of a piece of territory. Bringing it here was tantamount to giving up whatever land they had come from and she really wanted to believe that they wouldn’t have done that willingly.

        Tara had thought of the one big negative with her theory, "it could mean they won't be too thrilled about the idea of going back."

        Willow nodded resolutely, "Then we'll just have to persuade them there's no place like home."



9. "Frequency"




The closer they got to the castle the more imposing it appeared to Willow and Tara. There was a square shaped central keep that stretched up for at least seventy feet. Coming out from each side of the keep were long 'arms' about half as high as the central structure. The corners of the keep and the arms were mounted with cylindrical turrets that added another ten or fifteen feet. There were no windows on the lower floors at all and further up there were only narrow slits for firing out of. The only proper windows were on the uppermost part of the keep it self, "I guess that's where we'll find whoever runs this place." Willow commented as she craned her neck.

        "Maybe we should make them come to us." Tara wasn't any keener on climbing all the way to the top of this monstrosity than Willow was.

        Willow liked that notion and smiled wickedly as she replied, "So let's go find the front door."



        Guard duty was a panuniversal law of military service. Whatever the species, whatever the outlandish nature of the place there was always someone whose job was to stand outside it and watch for those who weren't supposed to be there. The elf standing in front of the raised portcullis wasn't interested in any philosophical explanations; he knew he was being picked on by his superiors. Others got to go out into the human realm and come back with loot. Of course most of it wound up in his lordship’s coffers but there was always the chance to put away a little for yourself.

        Such opportunities depended on actually getting out of the fortress and he had been on permanent guard duty since they arrived here, and he couldn't see exactly who it was he was supposed to be guarding against. The two women walking towards the gateway hardly seemed to be it. The guard had gotten used to the humans walking through the castle as if it didn't exist; and of course to them it didn't. The guard made to move aside as the women approached, there was no sensation when he passed through something or it passed through him, that didn't mean he enjoyed the experience.

        Willow watched the guard out of the corner of her eye; he was clearly bored and utterly uninterested in them. That would have been great if they were trying to sneak in but right now it was just annoying. As the guard turned away from them Willow tapped him on the shoulder, "I know it's kind of a cliché but could you take us too your leader?"

        The guard whirled around; the first thing that passed through his mind was the thought that this was some practical joke by his comrades. Then he remembered that a couple of them had returned complaining about running into a pair of witches. A spasm of fear caused the guard to swing his spear around to cover them. The weapon slid through his grasp and floated into the air. Willow looked at him disapprovingly, "You could put someone's eye out with that." There was a loud crack as the spears shaft broke in half.

        The guard stared as the halves fell to the stone floor and then ran to an alcove in the wall. There was a piece of rope dangling in it and the guard pulled on it sharply. The sound of a bell reverberated through the castle; its tone was urgent and inescapable. The guard pulled on the rope again and turned to look at the witches. He was just in time to see a strand of energy racing towards him. It pinned him against the wall and the ends buried themselves in the stone, holding him in place like a giant staple.

        Tara listened to the sound of the bell that was still echoing through the fortress, "I think we've got their attention honey."

        Willow nodded, "So let's go see who answers the doorbell."



        Beyond the wide open doors was a huge entrance hall at least six storeys high. Against the back wall a pair of staircases rose up to a landing. Between the tops of the staircases was a balcony that jutted out over the hall. The grandeur of the room was somewhat undermined by the great piles of loot that were scattered around the floor. Willow spotted some familiar looking green boxes; identical to the kind that held the rocket launcher that Xander had swiped from the army once upon a time. "We can't let them take this stuff with them."

        Tara nodded in agreement. She had been wondering if maybe they could compromise with the elves; let them take their booty as long as they returned Miss Thomas and went back where they came from now. Looking at the assembled firepower an image passed through Tara's mind, something she had read in a history book about cavalry with swords charging against tanks, this would be worse, bows and arrows against missiles. There was just no room for compromise.

        Willow was reluctant to climb the stairs but there was a drape covered entryway behind the balcony that probably connected to the lord’s private chambers. As she brushed aside the curtains she saw three more elven warriors rushing towards them. Two had drawn swords, the one in the middle was brandishing a chrome plated automatic pistol.

        Since their encounter with the militia yahoos a year or so back Willow had wondered about the best way to deal with firearms; simply deflecting the bullets struck her as downright dangerous, far better to stop them being shot in the first place. Willow had settled on affinity spell originally designed for dowsing. It worked on the principle of drawing a small piece of what you were looking for to a larger piece. She had adapted it to work with iron and amplify the attraction. As Willow cast the spell every chunk of steel in the firearm was magnetically drawn to every other part; the entire mechanism was frozen solid. The elven guard frantically tried to pull the trigger but it simply wouldn't budge.

        The other two soldiers had ignored their comrade’s problems and continued to advance, until they walked straight into an invisible wall. Tara had focused on them while Willow dealt with the gun. The barrier halted the guards but this was the sort of magic they had seen before and they began to slash at the force field that rippled and sparked as they struck it.

        We need to move these guys out of the way, Willow let the silent words flow into Tara's brain.

        Tara understood, if anyone came up the corridor behind them they could hold them off but they would be bottled up. She grasped Willow's left hand and then raised her own. The barrier firmed up and began to move down the corridor, shoving the guards back as it went.

        Willow and Tara strolled along behind it. The guard with the gun finally gave up on the weapon and threw it at the barrier. He had to duck as it bounced back at him.

        After a couple of minutes they came to a bend in the corridor. There was a wide open door next to it, the very room the guards had rushed out of when they heard the alarm.

        Let's put them back where they came from, Willow suggested. Tara agreed and let the barrier drop. Before the guards could react Willow swept her arm across the corridor and the guards flew through the open door, which slammed shut behind them. Willow worked the affinity spell on the lock and turned to Tara, "Well that's four down, and just a whole elven army to go."

        Tara smiled, "Well let's hope that we find the boss of this place first, I don't know if there are enough rooms to lock up a whole army."

        Willow looked around, "Oh it's a big place, plenty of room."



        The elven wizard was feeling twitchy; it was partly because he could feel the magic being worked inside the castle. It was also partly because of the black mood of the king. Mostly it was the uncertainty in confronting these human mages. In the elven realms there was a basic understanding between sorcerers that they might direct their magic against nobles, armies, castles even, the one target that was off limits were other sorcerers. The wizard was far from clear on whether these humans abided by the same rules.

        The king was brooding an uneasy as he strode along the corridor. When they had been driven to this place it had been clear that the humans had worked marvels with the mechanic arts since his ancestors had last been here. It was useful but he had still felt the magic of the elven folk gave them the clear advantage. Now here were humans who knew the magic arts; what if these witches were the vanguard of some human army? The idea of humans with their weapons and magic as well left a yawning chasm in his stomach.

        Tara was getting tired of all the staircases in this place; any remnant of the fairy tale castle vibe had definitely gone. When the elf in the long embroidered robe appeared in the company of another wearing a small coronet she sighed with relief; the pair just had to be the ones in charge around here.

        Willow had come to the same conclusion, "Which one of you owns this castle?" she demanded.

        The lord was offended by her inability to distinguish him from a mere wizard and he didn't hide it, "I am the lord of the land of Mernor."

        "Which would be nice if we were in the land of Mernor but we aren't are we?" Willow pointed out archly.

        The lord knew the witch had a point; he simply chose to ignore it, "This fortress is part of Mernor, wherever it is that is Mernor."

        Great he's going to claim diplomatic immunity, Willow thought sourly, "I don't care where you think it is, we want the property you stole returned and the woman you kidnapped freed."

        "And then we want you to go back where you came from." Tara added firmly.

        The lord maintained an air of disdain, "And if I refuse your demands?"

        Willow's voice turned icy, "Then we'll make you leave."

        The wizard could tell this was going to end badly. He reached out with his mind and was relieved to feel the presence of the witches on the higher plane; surely we can resolve this amongst ourselves? It would hardly be the first time magicians had come together to avert a crisis caused by nobles.

        Both Willow and Tara were surprised by the contact, having someone else initiate telepathy was disturbing and wrong somehow. Willow quickly recovered however; we can't go back on our demands. He can't have the teacher and we won't let him use those weapons against his enemies.

        The wizard could tell both witches shared the same resolution and the insight into their minds told him more than that. He could feel the bond between them, the power that flowed through them and he knew he had one chance. He swirled his hand in the air and a web of violet energy spun out from it and expanded towards Tara and Willow.

        Willow had also picked up on the wizard's spike of anxiety and the couple reacted instantly. Lightning flew Willow's fingers and the web shredded and dissipated. The wizard wasn't finished however; with a few muttered words vines erupted from the floor and walls reaching out to engulf the couple.

        "You have bested them." The lord announced smugly.

        The wizards expression, was sour, "We should go before they free themselves; I will need considerably more magic to defeat these two."

        Picking up on the wizard’s angst the lord followed him without further complaint.



10. "The Longest Day"




The vines wrapped themselves around Willow, grabbing at her arms and waist. She managed to lay her hands on one and concentrated all her energy into it. The vine shrivelled and disintegrated. The effect spread and soon Willow was standing surrounded by dust and ashes. Turning she saw the vines attacking Tara were twisting themselves into knots, turning on one another and squeezing until the sap ran out.

        Willow gave Tara her hand and Tara picked her way through the writhing vines, "They aren't going to do this the easy way are they?"

        "Apparently not." Willow pulled the tuning crystal from her bag to check it was unharmed, "So we find Miss Thomas and then we use this on their portal."

        It was a grim plan but Tara couldn't offer an alternative, the elves didn't seem prepared to co-operate, "So where would they be keeping a kidnapped teacher?"



        Catherine had given up pounding on the barrier that surrounded the bed; she wasn't making any impression on it and leaving it alone made it easier to ignore its impossible presence. She stared once again at the dress and wondered if perhaps she should wear it; they would release her from this tiny prison and then there might be an opportunity to escape. She rejected the idea once more, she was not going to give that arrogant whatever he was the satisfaction.

        "Miss Thomas?" The sound of her name almost gave the teacher a heart attack.

        Standing in the doorway of the room were a small redheaded woman she didn't recognize and a blonde she certainly did, "Tara Maclay? Did they kidnap you as well?"

        Tara smiled, "Actually we're here to rescue you."

        The teacher didn't want to sound ungrateful but she couldn't help sounding hesitant, "Are the police somewhere around?"

        Willow walked over to the bed shaking her head, "Trust me Sunnydale police don't have jurisdiction here." She ran her fingers over the barrier that surrounded the bed.

        "I don't know what it is," Catherine explained as Willow explored the barrier, "but nothing will go through it."

        Willow pressed her fingers against the barrier and lightning crackled over the surface. Once it dissipated she stretched her hand out to the teacher who gingerly took it and climbed off the bed, "How did you do that?" Catherine was bewildered.

        "Are you sure you want to know?" Tara asked as she joined Willow.

        The teacher thought about it, "Probably not." She marched over to a wall where several weapons were hung decoratively, "Have you seen one of these characters running around with a sort of crown on?"

        Willow was puzzled as she answered, "He's around here somewhere."

        Catherine pulled an ax from it's holder on the wall, "Good, I want to have a few words with him." she stormed out of the room hefting the weapon.

        "I guess she has an ax to grind." Willow suggested, drawing an appalled look from Tara, "Sorry. We should go after her and make sure she doesn't get hurt." There was a very unfeminine shriek from the corridor, "Or anyone else."

        Tara agreed, "I'll go after her. You go find the portal."

        Willow hugged her, "Ok, make sure you get down out of here though, we don't want to phase back in fifty feet above the high school."

       

        The tuning crystal was beginning to glow as Willow cupped it in her hands. She was sure the crystal wouldn't harm her but she was worried about the fact that the last time the crystal had been activated she been afflicted with visions of the future. She really felt she could live without any more of those. Forewarned might be forearmed but enough was enough. This time the crystal seemed content to just do its job. There was a subtle pull from the stone that led her back down the stairwell. The castle had gone quiet, at least the parts Willow moved through. She suspected that the remaining guards were busy trying to fend off a homicidal teacher.

        As she walked back into the great hall the emanations from the crystal grew stronger, pulling her towards the middle of one wall. Approaching it a beam of blue light shot out of the crystal and a rippling tear in the universe was illuminated. It seemed impossible that an entire castle could pas through such a small thing but when you were talking about interdimensional connections who knew?

        Honey you better get to the ground floor quickly, she thought at Tara.

        The reply she got was a little distracted, We're on our way but it may take a couple of minutes.

        Ok, but only a couple right?
Willow was tempted to break off and go back to Tara; however the best way to help was probably to give the elves something else to worry about. She focused her attention on what she wanted, for the castle to go back where it came from. As she concentrated the rift began to stretch and a shiver ran through the fabric of the castle.

        Don't do that!" The cry almost made her drop the crystal, which brought a gasp from the same source as the shout. Willow looked over her shoulder to see the wizard and the lord were stood on the balcony. The pair raced down with the lord drawing his sword as they did so. The wizard stopped him from attacking Willow, "If she drops that we could all be dragged into the nether hells."

        "Then what do you suggest I do?" The lord demanded angrily.

        The wizard took a deep breath, "Yield my lord, yield and ask for terms."

        The lord raised his sword in the direction of the wizard, "Yield to one girl?"

        "One girl with the power to delivery us to our enemies." The wizard remained cool on the outside; devoutly hoping that the lord couldn't see the fear in his eyes.

        The wizard's words reached the lord. The thought of being thrust back into the hands of the Lord of Cronat was not one that thrilled him. Willow jumped in, "I don't want to see anything bad happen to you. I'm just not going to let you go anywhere with the firearms or the teacher."

        "Then perhaps you could use that too return us to a different part of our world, the Trobeth Isles, they are sparsely populated." Desperation inspired the wizard to come up with a compromise.

        "That is because they are cold and barren." The lord pointed out.

        "But rich in precious metals they say." The wizard countered.

        "Sound like a plan to me,” Willow announced, "Or else," she concentrated on the crystal and the vortex stretched out, sending another shiver through the stone of the castle.

        The lord stared at Willow for a moment and then his shoulders slumped and he sheathed his sword. He fumbled with his hands and then stretched one out as he approached Willow. Willow was nervous but extended a hand in return. Instead of taking it the lord dropped something into her palm.

        Willow didn't get the details but she guessed this was some sort of ritual gesture. She looked at what the lord had given her; cool. "Ok so that's settled then."

        Tara appeared on the balcony with Miss Thomas in tow. She had been concerned all the way down the stairwell; now she relaxed as she saw the subdued behaviour of the elves and the cool demeanour of Willow.

        Willow looked up at her, I think I just took their surrender, Willow explained, now we just have to figure how to make the crystal do what I promised.



        Tara had been concerned that the elves would renege on their deal once all the warriors got back to the castle. The lord’s action though appeared to be binding on all the elves and they had worked quickly to move the all the stolen items out of the fortress. Willow had decided that getting everything where it came from was too complicated. Finding big piles of stolen goods would be just one more Sunnydale mystery to add to the list.

        With all the weapons gone and as much of the rest of the stuff as Willow thought they were likely to get the elves had gathered in the great hall. The wizard was stood next to Willow and Tara. They wouldn't let him touch the crystal but he had telepathically explained the method needed to redirect the 'landing site' of the fortress. Tara placed her hands around Willow's and they both concentrated on the rift. It exploded outwards and swept past them. For a moment Tara was afraid they were going to be sucked in themselves. She was reassured when the familiar shapes of a high school corridor reasserted themselves.

        Willow grinned and a strange thought crossed her mind, "I guess the elvish have left the building."

        Tara looked at her disbelievingly, "Willow I love you dearly but one more joke like that and the engagement is off!"



        The police had delayed the couple’s return home while they pressed for some explanation of where Catherine Thomas had been. The teacher wasn't even going to try and explain, Willow and Tara simply stonewalled. In the end the detective simply gave and decided to go and turn his attention on the huge piles of weapons and other goods that had appeared near the school.

        When the couple got back to the Summers house there was a note on the table explaining that Joyce had taken Dawn out to dinner, "Thank you Joyce." Willow muttered as she slumped onto the sofa.

        "She really has this family stuff down." Tara agreed as she joined Willow.

        "Well I'm sure we'll get the hang of it; assuming you're still going to marry me." Willow commented with mock concern.

        Tara turned and kissed her, "Absolutely, in fact," she reached into her bag and produced the box containing the engagement ring.

        As she opened it Willow gasped, "It's beautiful."

        Tara was thrilled at Willow's reaction, "It belonged to Lydia. She left it to me. I wanted to wait until you got one as well but I, you know, couldn't"

        Tara's explanation struck a chord with Willow. She reached into her pocket and produced the item the elven lord had given her.

        The ring was the most unusual Tara had ever seen. It had five sapphires and five diamonds in an alternating pattern. What was unusual was the setting. Thin threads of gold twined around one another and then stretched out to wrap around each gem before folding back in to twist around one another again, in effect each gem was held in a little gold cage, "It's lovely," she lifted the ring from Willow's palm and slid it on to her ring finger; the surprisingly good fit seemed like an omen.

        Willow took Lydia's ring from the box and matched Tara's gesture. They slumped against one another and put their hands side by side, relaxing and letting the light glitter off the gems.

        The peace was only disturbed when Tara reminded Willow, “You know there’s still another two days until Buffy gets back.” Willow simply groaned and snuggled in closer.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Re: Reality Check 14: Long Weekend Pt2

Postby barnabasvamp » Sat Apr 26, 2003 8:03 pm

Awesome, just what I needed to end this day!



As you moved along into each update, I found myself becoming more intrigued by the moment.



Very nice the way they pulled off getting rid of Buffy. And now Tara is beginning to figure out just where the "streaks" she has been seeing are coming from.



Look forward to more.

BV

"When choosing between two evils, I always like to take the one I've never tried before"-Mae West

barnabasvamp
 


Re: Reality Check 14: Long Weekend Pt3

Postby The Rose24 » Sat Apr 26, 2003 10:26 pm

YAY!!! :applause



Great job. This update is a lot lighter than your last two. I am glad there is some brightness among all of the darkness.



I really think W/T :willow :love :tara could use a vacation now. Hint. Hint.

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.


The Rose24
 


Re: Reality Check 14: Long Weekend Pt2

Postby Grimaldi » Sun Apr 27, 2003 11:17 am

great update :)



i'm glad they were able to get Buffy to take a vacation, she definitely needs one. the bit about Tara having to check herself for labels whenever Willow is in a organizing mood was funny.

I'm not stealing, I'm just taking things without paying for them. In what twisted dictionary is that stealing?

Grimaldi
 


Re: Reality Check 14: Long Weekend Pt2

Postby Sheridan » Mon Apr 28, 2003 11:31 am

Quote:
Awesome, just what I needed to end this day!




Glad I could help barnabasvamp.:)



Quote:
Great job. This update is a lot lighter than your last two. I am glad there is some brightness among all of the darkness. I really think W/T could use a vacation now. Hint. Hint.




Well The Rose 24 they will be getting a special vacation at the end of the next story 'The Road Not Taken'. After that its 'Cradle' and it could be a long time before they get to go anywhere alone again...:devil



Quote:
the bit about Tara having to check herself for labels whenever Willow is in a organizing mood was funny.




I did like that one, and I apologize for the terrible 'Elvish' joke at the end Grimaldi.:)

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 4/28/03 10:35:31 am
Sheridan
 


Re: Reality Check 14: Long Weekend Pt2

Postby tstcloud » Wed Apr 30, 2003 11:32 pm



Great update! I'm glad to see that Willow's experience with Fire has taught her not to abuse magic. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for Will and Tara.



T

tstcloud
 


Re: Reality Check 14: Long Weekend Pt2

Postby Sheridan » Fri May 02, 2003 12:07 pm

Quote:
I'm looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for Will and Tara.




Well the immediate future is laid out in the S6 outline I put up. the longer term revolves around the Triumvirate, Sabrina, the Pathfinder and the Baradine...:devil

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Re: Reality Check 14: Long Weekend Pt2

Postby SlayerSydney » Tue May 06, 2003 5:39 pm

Hey Sheridan! :bigwave



I'm so happy I finally got to read your newest update!



Once again I'm just posting to say that I really enjoy your fic. Willow and Tara saving the day again. *sigh* I love them so much. :heart And I'm glad I read this on a Tuesday. Grr...



Anyway, as usual, I can't wait for the next installment.



Oh, and the elf joke at the end....cute...:rolleyes Hee hee.


"I want to rock your gypsy soul."~~~Van Morrison

SlayerSydney
 


Re: Reality Check 14: Long Weekend

Postby chronic » Thu May 08, 2003 10:25 am

Quote:
"I think she knows more magic than I do," Dawn complained pointing at the cat, "the way she's always disappearing."



Willow looked puzzled, "What are you talking about?"



"The way Miss Kitty kind of vanishes for weeks at a time and then just pops up." Dawn told her.



Willow stroked the cat
chronic
 


Re: Reality Check 14: Long Weekend Pt2

Postby Sheridan » Thu May 08, 2003 3:58 pm

Quote:
And I'm glad I read this on a Tuesday. Grr...




Well Slayer Sydney it goes out on Thursday in the UK back to back with Angel and I have a brother who is still a fanatic so I have to disappear for a couple of hours; then I usually come back and write a chapter or so.



Quote:
Just a quick question, will you be posting a season 6 episode guide showing where the new fics fit in with the rest of the season, or have things now changed so much that season 6 as we know it doesn't exist (which wouldn't be a bad thing...)




Actually Chronic I did put up the guide already, its a page or two back. You are right though in that things have changed so much that although it takes place in the same time frame as S6 it doesn't have much, if anything, in common with it; which is no bad thing...:)

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 5/8/03 3:05:02 pm
Sheridan
 


Re: Reality Check 14: Long Weekend

Postby The Next Tara Maclay » Thu May 08, 2003 8:11 pm

:clap :bow



Love this fic.

The Next Tara Maclay
 


Re: Reality Check 14: Long Weekend

Postby Sheridan » Sat May 10, 2003 3:28 pm

Quote:
Love this fic.




Short but sweet The Next Tara Maclay. :)

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Praise and Recognition

Postby evilmookow » Tue May 13, 2003 4:12 am

I must say I am thoroughly impressed with so much of the writting on this board. This place is a veritable treasure trove of good stories, and there are few things I enjoy more then a good story.



I usually don't post on forums but you deserve the praise and recognition, so way to go with the excellent story so far, and I hope to see many more quality updates.



I should go and post more feedback on other authors threads now but that'll have to wait, what I REALLY should be doing is work or uni assignments that have been somewhat neglected recently.



Keep up the good work, it's appreciated!







evilmookow
 


Re: Praise and Recognition

Postby Sheridan » Wed May 14, 2003 1:22 pm

Quote:
I should go and post more feedback on other authors threads now but that'll have to wait, what I REALLY should be doing is work or uni assignments that have been somewhat neglected recently.




Well you must remember that real world evilmookow before it comes looking for you. :) Thanks for the kind words it's always nice to hear from someone whose just found this place and boy have you got a lot to catch up on. :)

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Re: Praise and Recognition

Postby Sheridan » Sun May 25, 2003 8:51 pm

Well the first pseudo S6 story is complete. 'The Road Not Taken' weighed in at 26,500 words so the editing could take a few days!

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Season 6!!!

Postby chronic » Thu May 29, 2003 5:27 am

New story! :applause



Can't hardly wait! :bounce



:eatme :banana



Hail to the sun god, he's a very fun god, Ra Ra Ra!

chronic
 


Reality Check 15: The Road Not Taken Pt1

Postby Sheridan » Fri May 30, 2003 5:18 pm

Title: The Road Not taken

Author: Mike Mullen

Rating: NC-17/18 because of violence, adult themes and sex.

Spoilers: None what so ever

Disclaimer: All the original BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and ME, everyone else in the stories are my personal slaves.

Summary: Willow and Tara find that keeping their promises means going a long way out of town but has its rewards.

Authors notes: The beginning of the big changes for our favourite couple.

Feedback: Just add your comments at the end of the story.







The Road Not Taken




Prologue




Two months ago...



Willow wrapped her arms around Tara with every ounce of strength she had; irrationally afraid that Tara's mind might slip away again if she didn't hold her in the here and now.

        "It's ok Willow, it's ok." Tara was reassuring herself as much as Willow.

        Willow fumbled in her pocket and produced the elven ring she had given Tara for their engagement, "They took it off when they put your hand in plaster," Willow explained, "but I kept it with me so I could give it back."

        Tara slid it back onto her finger, trying not to wince with pain as she did so. Her hand throbbed, her head ached and she felt terribly grimy. All Tara wanted to do right now was fill a bath and slide into it with Willow.

        She was reminded of why that was going to have to be postponed by someone shouting, “Incoming!” Tara tore her gaze from Willow and saw Buffy slugging it out with Glory and swinging a very large hammer. As she heard the shout Buffy dropped and rolled. An instant later a streak of flame tore through the place she had been standing and slammed into Glory with a tremendous explosion that threw the mad god across the yard.

        Elias dived for cover next to Willow and Tara as a hail of bricks and slabs of wood answered his attack. He dropped the grenade launcher, "I don't think I even chipped her nails," he commented sourly.

        "I’m sure you did your best." Tara reassured him.

        Elias was going to say thanks when the real meaning of the words struck him, "Tara?"

        "I'm back, Willow found me." Tara looked adoringly towards Willow who blushed.

        Elias couldn't help smiling; at least something was going right around here. There was a sound of metal on flesh; Buffy was going at Glory with the hammer again.

        Willow could see the worried frown return to Elias' face, "All she has to do is keep Glory busy, time must be running out for her."

        Elias nodded and looked up at the platform. He froze as he did so, "There's someone up there."

        Willow craned her neck. She couldn't make out anything but she was prepared to take Elias' word for it, "You better get up there." She cut him off before he could object, "We'll clear the way."

        Willow slid her hand into Tara's, who nodded to back up Willow's assertion. Elias rose and ran towards the stairs. A cluster of minions and Glory's brain sucked victims barred his way. Elias dropped his shoulder and mentally crossed his fingers. Suddenly the mob was thrown aside by a sheer act of Will on the witches part. Elias leapt for the bottom stair and practically threw himself up the tower.

       

Dawn was watching Doc, or more exactly the long knife he held in his hands. When she first met him after her mother died he had seemed nice, like someone's kindly grandfather. Only now could Dawn see he was insane, even for a demon. That cheery veneer was the product of a form of madness.

        Elias swung himself onto the platform; "Back away from the girl!" he barked the command in his best military tone.

        Doc spun round and at the sight of the blade in his hand Elias drew the knife he had slipped in to his boot as a backup, "Now who are you?" Doc asked reasonably.

        "The person who's going to kick your ass and take the girl down from here." Elias hefted his knife to let it fly; at the last second some combat instinct changed his aim.

        Doc took a step to the side but the knife didn't even come close. It sailed past and buried itself in the post to which Dawn's left hand was tied. Doc didn't notice that the sharp edge had cut into the rope. Elias adopted a combat stance but Doc was unbelievably fast. He grabbed Elias' right arm and twisted it behind his back, "Sorry but I guess you don't get to be the hero." With that Doc shoved him off the platform.

        Willow and Tara were straining to see what was going on high above. The moment she saw the figure topple she reacted. Tara made the same guess and poured what energy she had into Willow. Even with their combined strength Willow couldn't do more than slow the fall.

        It was enough however. Elias had done more than his share of parachute jumps and he knew how to land. He let his body relax as he hit the ground and tucked and rolled without doing more than picking up some bruises. See that he was safe the witches turned their attention to the platform but it was futile, neither of them could open a telepathic link to Dawn let alone do anything more active, they were quite simply spent.

       

While Doc was watching Elias fall Dawn managed to break the rope that Elias' knife had sliced into. She winced as the back of her hand grazed the blade. She ignored the drops of blood that fell from the wound and placed her hand back on the post. She remembered what Elias had taught her about combat; to wait for your moment and then let your opponent have it with everything you had.

        Elias had also taught Dawn that it was a good idea to make your opponent think you were going to kick him if you were actually going to punch him.

        Doc turned his knife over in his hand as he walked back to Dawn. From the way she was tensing he could tell she was going to lash out with her legs. He stepped nimbly to the side and turned his face towards her to tell her that it would be much easier if she didn’t struggle. At that moment Dawns palm smashed into Doc's nose. Elias had been very explicit about this attack; only use it if you were in imminent fear for your life and willing to kill. If this wasn't such an occasion Dawn didn't want to know what was.

        Seeing Doc teetering on the edge of the platform Dawn decided now was the time to kick him. She planted her hands on the post and planted both feet in his chest. He went sailing over the edge without so much as a scream.

        Dawn pulled the knife out of the post and hacked through the rope holding her right hand. She stood there for a moment, unable to believe that she had won, or had she? There was still Glory to worry about. She carefully peered over the edge of the platform and was elated to see Glory stretched out on the ground and Buffy racing for the tower. She was about to call out when the blue glow lit up the platform.

        The vortex was expanding rapidly with bolts of lightning shooting out of it. Dawn stared into it numbly. She wasn't even afraid; somehow she had known it would come to this. Dawn turned to look back along the platform as she heard running feet reach the top.

        "Dawn come back from there." Buffy commanded.

        Dawn looked at her and mustered a weak smile, "You know I can't Buffy. Don't feel too sad, I know you did everything you could," She turned away from Buffy and looked into the vortex again.

        Buffy ran for the edge even though she knew there was no way to reach it in time. She came to a halt as her sister vanished over the edge.

        Willow saw something fall into the vortex and it was filled with a brilliant green light for a moment. After that there was only the night sky, "Dawnie." Willow whispered and began to sob as her head slumped against Tara's chest.



1. "Old Familiar Places"




"Well how about this one?" Anya asked insistently.

        Reluctantly Tara looked at the magazine again, "I don't think so, its too..." she trailed off unable to think of the right term.

        Anya turned the picture of the wedding dress towards the Tara, "Too long? Too floaty? Too lacy? No a wedding dress can't be too lacy."

        Willow had gone on point with Xander about twenty paces ahead of Tara and Anya. Seeing Anya arrive for the patrol with a handful of bridal magazines the pair had decided that it was Tara's turn to fend her off. Willow could see that Tara was reaching the end of her tether, "You know Anya I'm not even sure we're going to go with the whole white dress thing."

        Anya was dismissive and completely on the wrong track, "Well neither of you has ever had a boyfriend so technically your fine."

        Tara was clearly a little flustered by the meaning behind that 'technically' as she nearly tripped over her feet. Willow hastily corrected her, "I meant I don't think that we're going to go for that whole style."

        Anya was unphased by her mistake, "Well its what I'd go for,” she delivered her punch line with relish.

        That of course had been the whole point of the conversation Willow realised as she watched Xander flinch. Practically since she had proposed to Tara Anya had been talking about weddings. Willow could only imagine what it was like when Xander and Anya were behind closed doors; actually she decided she really didn't want to imagine that.

        Xander recovered with the speed born of long practice, "You know ladies we are actually supposed to be sneaking up on some demons. It's kind of hard when we're making more noise than a Jerry Springer audience."

        That put a stop to the conversation, at least for now, "I give you fifteen minutes, tops." Willow whispered, to which Xander nodded gloomily.



        There was a pair of demons hunkered down by a fresh grave pawing at the dirt. They were digging like dogs and for much the same reasons, looking for buried bones. Tara found demons that went after the dead even nastier than those that preyed on the living. Xander whispered a question, "So do we go out there and take them on in a manly fashion, or do we just take them out in a totally cowardly manner?"

        "I'm all for cowardice." Tara responded.

        Willow nodded, "Xander take Anya and the crossbows and go to the right. I'll go to the left with Tara. When I send the telepathic word we hit them with everything we've got, ok?"

        There was no argument and Xander was loading his crossbow when a billowing form landed in between the demons, "So what are you buggers up to?" Spike demanded, lashing out with a kick that knocked one of the demons on to its back. The other demon responded by grabbing one of Spike's legs and knocking him down.

        "Well it was a nice plan." Willow grumbled as she pulled out an ax and clambered to her feet.

        "You could just zap all of them." Xander suggested but he was speaking to Willow's back.

        Spike was being pulled apart like a wishbone when an ax blade buried itself into the collar of the creature holding his left arm. The demon released a high-pitched squeal and released Spike. With one arm free and the other demon off balance he was able to spin it round and send it sailing through the air to land with a bone-jarring crunch.

        The creature was clambering to its feet when a bolt of lightning engulfed it. The demon shrieked and toppled over on the spot. Spike turned to the injured demon but a pair of crossbow bolts was sticking out of its chest and it had collapsed to its knees. Spike grabbed the ax that had now fallen to the ground and sliced through the demons neck, taking its head clean off.

        The vampire lit up a cigarette and blew a lungful of smoke in Willow's direction as she angrily approached him. She retaliated by telekinetically snatching the cigarette from his fingers and shoving it into the disturbed earth of the grave.

        "Here I was enjoying that." The vampire complained.

        Willow was in no mood for Spike's games, "Well I wasn't. What are you doing here Spike?"

        "Doing my bit for the cause," he responded, "and feeling thoroughly unappreciated."

        Tara had joined Willow, "We asked you to work with us and you said no. Actually you said a lot of other things as well, most of which ended in ‘off’."

        Spike recalled the incident and truthfully felt a little bad about the way he had spoken to the witches, not to mention alarmed at the risk he had taken in provoking them. Naturally he had been drunk at the time and that was probably why they hadn't dusted him on the spot. Equally naturally he wasn't about to admit that, "Yeah well you know me, a bit of a lone wolf."

        "The lone wolf looked more like a dead duck." Xander called out as he retrieved the crossbow bolts.

        Spike could see he was being outnumbered and decided to change the subject, "So where's the Slayer?"

        And now we get down to it, Willow thought coldly, "Elsewhere," she said harshly.

        Tara understood why Willow was being so blunt but couldn't quite bring herself to be so cold; even with Spike, "Elias took her out of town for a while."

        "Oh captain cardboard thinks that's going to make things right does he?" Spike couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice.

        "At least he's trying to help, not just worried about his own wants." Willow's words were like a slap in the face and Spike spun on his heel and stormed off.



        Spike pulled out the cigarette packet and found it was empty, "Bloody marvellous."

        "Spike! Slow down a second." Tara was a little out of breath as she chased after the vampire.

        Spike had gotten his fill for one evening, "The little wife made it clear I wasn't welcome." He continued on his way as he spoke.

        "I know you what you’re feeling Spike." Tara's voice wasn't loud but it went right through Spike.

"You know what exactly?"

        "I know it's more than just an obsession." Tara expanded on her point knowing that she didn’t have to say who he had feelings for.

        "Don't think that counts for much with some people." Spike pointed out bitterly.

        "It isn't that," Tara explained, "Willow's just worried about Buffy."

        "And I'm not." Spike snapped back.

        "Right now Buffy is fragile and vulnerable. Willow's afraid, I'm afraid, that she could do something that she'll regret later." Tara didn't really want to get much clearer than that.

        Spike got the point, "I wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

        "But she might. And later she'll hate you and hate herself more." Tara's tone was sympathetic but insistent.

        The worst of it was Spike knew Tara was right; if Buffy did turn to him now it wouldn't from need or desire, it would be to punish herself. Knowing it didn't make him any happier about it, "I'll stay out of the way."

        "Thank you," Tara breathed a sigh of relief, "I better get back."

        "Yeah red hasn't seen you for five whole minutes." Spike managed to put the usual insolence back in his voice.

        Tara just smiled and was about to go when Spike stopped her, "You're going to do something to help her, right?"

        "We'll do all we can." Tara reassured him before she walked away.

        Spike stared after as she went, we'll do all we can. Given what he knew of the witches he decided that might just be enough.



        Willow and the others were waiting for Tara at the edge of the cemetery, "Did you make Spike feel better?" Xander's voice was biting.

        "It wasn't about making him feel better." Tara retorted not entirely truthfully, "It's about protecting Buffy."

        "Yeah well the best way to do that would be a stake through the heart. I mean Spike's." Xander felt foolish for even having to make that correction.

        "I guess there's enough guilt for everyone." Willow pointed out. "Tara was right, the last thing we need is for Spike to be hanging around." It wasn't quite an apology for earlier harshness with the vampire but her tone made it close.

        "So do you guys want to come to the Bronze and hang out?" Xander wasn't really in a partying mood; it was just a good excuse to talk about something else.

        "No we were planning an early night." Willow replied.

        "Oh that's a shame," Anya commented brandishing one of the magazines, "because there are some really cool flower ideas in here, you know for the wedding ceremony."

        Willow looked at her watch, "Wow did you realize its been less than fifteen minutes since we spotted those demons?"

        Anya and Tara looked puzzled by Willow's observation; Xander though shot her a pained look.

       

        Letting Xander and Anya pull ahead as they walked towards his car. Willow used telepathy to guarantee privacy, how did it really go?

        Spike won't do anything crazy.
Tara reassured her.

        And you didn't have to tell him too much? Willow couldn't help being anxious.

        I didn't tell him anything specific but he knows we're not just going to let things go on like this.

        Willow slipped an arm around Tara, no we're not.



2. "Empty Rooms, Hollow Spaces"




Seeing Xander's car disappear around the corner Tara turned towards the Summers house. She found her feet didn't seem inclined to move towards it and Willow was equally immobile.

        After a brief eternity Tara Finally turned to Willow, "This is silly, we need to go in."

        "Yeah we do." Willow agreed heavily and walked up the path to the front door.

        Despite her comment Tara couldn’t quite convince herself they were being silly. Sure they had just come from creeping around a graveyard demon hunting but that was different; graveyards were supposed to be depressing. This house had always been a good place to them. Now it was all she could do to take the key out of her pocket and open the door.

        The living room was the same as it always had been, maybe just a little tidier. As they walked in Willow and Tara moved a little further apart. That was the other thing that wasn't improving their mood. The heavy atmosphere in the house made it hard to be intimate, as if it were somehow disrespectful. Every little touch or kiss brought that awful sense of guilt back again.

        "You want to get something eat before we go out?" Willow asked in a voice that begged for a 'no'.

        "Let's just go to that all night place later, and stay there all night." Tara replied.

        Willow mustered a weak smile and headed for the stairs with Tara following behind. The upstairs of the house was even gloomier than the downstairs. After Joyce died Buffy had made a halfhearted effort to pack away here mothers things but events had spiraled out of control before she made much progress. Dawn's room was untouched. The door to the teenager's room was firmly shut to try and keep the pain at bay but the couple had been staying in Joyce's room and everything they needed was in there.

        As Willow pulled the bag out from under the bed Tara's gaze fell on the photograph of the Summers women that was still sat on the bedside table. Tara found it upsetting but couldn't quite bring herself to the picture away; it would be too much like forgetting Joyce and Dawn.

        Willow caught Tara staring at the picture, ""We did everything we could." It had become the pairs mantra these past weeks, a mantra to convince themselves that it had been beyond their power to change things.

        Joyce's death had been an act of nature. And that day at the fair the couple had only parted for a few moments as Willow wanted to buy Tara a surprise gift. A few moments was all it took for Glory to strike, a few moments to turn their lives into a nightmare. After that all Willow could think about was making Tara well; revenge would have been nice but if she went after Glory and didn't come back who was going to be there for Tara?

        That last night as they prepared to go into battle Buffy had been quite clear that she understood, Tara had to be Willow's first priority.

        Willow had marshalled those facts a dozen times and still they couldn't erase the guilt, the nagging sense there was something they should have done differently.

        Now it was Tara's turn to break Willow's train of thought, "And we still are, right?"

        Willow did her best to sound positive, "Right."



        The scrap yard was another place that the couple would rather have avoided. It was unchanged form the night of the battle; with that incredible power of denial that marked out the residents of Sunnydale no one seemed to have even noticed the existence of the tower of junk swaying on the sky line.

        Willow wondered just how long it could stay up left to its own devices; it had been built by crazy people for a mad god who only wanted it for one night. She couldn't help giving the structure a concerned look each time it creaked and settled.

        The blanket Tara had been carrying was a ratty old thing so they didn't have to worry about laying it down in the grimy yard. Instead Tara focused on getting it in the right alignment. The crystals she was using to create wards needed to be oriented along the compass points.

        Willow emptied took out the items she had brought in the bag and precariously balanced them until she could put the bag on the ground and place them on it.

        Pride of place went to the tuning crystal. Giles would probably have a heart attack if he knew they were using it again, so lucky we didn't tell him. Tara took the jars of powder and poured them out into a circle one by one; each forming a layer on top of the others. She also made four carefully spaced mounds that she placed the small chunks of quartz on top of.

        Stepping back she examined her handiwork, "It looks right," she commented uncertainly.

        Willow squeezed Tara's shoulder, "It's perfect but we could make this another practice run if you want."

        Tara considered it but shook her head, "No, we know what we're doing we just need to actually do it," she stepped carefully into the circle and settled down. Willow stood behind her and stretched out her hands with the tuning crystal grasped in them.

        A thin beam of vivid blue light cut through the night sky. As it crossed in front of the edge of the platform it vanished and the shimmering outline of the vortex was illuminated. The gateway that Dawn's blood had opened was closed for good and all. What it had left behind was an afterimage, the ghost of the vortex.

        With the energy of the crystal Willow was simply weakening the barrier between this world and all the other a little, enough for Tara to do her part.

        Tara had closed her eyes and simply let herself feel for the weak point. The first couple of times they had practiced Tara had found trying to guide herself through the interface like trying to shoot the rapids in a raft and bouncing off one rock after another. Now she had learned to narrow her focus and concentrate on what she was looking for. There were probably an infinite number of universes that the vortex led to, some of which would be very similar to this one. There was one thing that was unique, something that Tara had seen for just a moment that night when the vortex was ripped open, the pure and panuniversal power of the Key.

        When the couple had finally been able to bring themselves to think about what had happened to Dawn an old piece of high school physics had worked its way out of Willow’s subconscious, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only tran


        Willow had gone over the possibilities for days before she had even dared mention it to Tara and there was no question of telling the others until they had something meaningful to share. The odds were incredibly long and even if the Key somehow still existed there was no guarantee it could be restored to the form they had come to know and care about.

        Tara continued to stretch out, her mind feeling for any hint, any trace. She knew she was simply supposed to be trying to pick up the vibrations of the Key but she couldn't help wondering; are you out there Dawnie?

        "If you stay cool everything will be fine."


        Tara was startled, the thought passed by like a speeding bullet and there was no way to trace it back. There was no doubt though whose thought it was.

        Willow cut off the flow of the crystal as Tara opened her eyes and positively bounced out of the circle, "You found it." Willow stated.

        "I found her." Tara corrected her excitedly. Willow stared at her not quite sure she had heard correctly so Tara flung her arms around Willow and pulled her close, "She's alive Willow, Dawn's alive!"

        As the words sunk in Willow felt light and giddy, she kissed Tara and felt nothing but passion and delight as she did so.



        The walk back to the Summers took a lot longer than the outward journey, mostly because the pair was caught up in animated conversation and more than few passionate clinches. Even the sight of the Summers house didn't bring them down, at least until they spotted the SUV parked in the driveway, "Their back." Willow said it mostly out of surprise.

        Tara was also taken aback; Elias had taken Buffy with him on an out of town job, one that wasn't supposed to finish for a few more days.

        It was Tara who voiced the question they were both considering, "How much do we tell her?"

        "We're sure but we can't prove anything, and we can't tell where Dawn is or how she is." Willow hated what she was leading to; she wanted to lift the weight of Buffy's shoulders. What though if they were wrong? Or they couldn't do get Dawn back home?

        "We've really only just started haven't we?" Tara's earlier high spirits were fading.

        Willow kissed her again, "Yeah but tonight could have been the end full stop, this is way better." Tara smiled again and they made for the front door.



        Tara had wondered if they could actually hide their excitement about their discovery from Buffy. She realised that she needn't have worried, Buffy had barely noticed them walking in the door. Tara suspected Buffy wouldn't have noticed if a legion of vampires had set up a lair in the living room.

        "Hey Buff," for the first time in weeks Willow didn't have to fake a cheerful manner, "didn't expect to see you for a while."

        "Turned out the film company hired a real demon for its horror movie, slayed it, job over." What might have been an interesting story was reduced to the mundanity of a shopping list in Buffy's mouth. Her voice had none of the vibrancy of old; she just sounded tired.

        Willow hesitated to follow on the conversation so Tara decided to try, "We tried not to mess the place up too much while you were gone."

        "It's fine, I'm getting rid of it anyway."

        That jolted Willow and Tara, "What?" They demanded simultaneously.

        "It's too big and too expensive for me on my own, and you two don't really want to stay here, right?" Buffy's voice continued in that same blunt monotone.

        "Well no," Willow admitted, "but what about you?"

        "I'm going to move in with Elias." Buffy explained.

        Willow felt bewildered, "Well that's good. Where is Elias?"

        "Out in the kitchen." Buffy didn't feel the desire to expand any further.

        Willow left Tara to keep an eye on Buffy while she tried to get more info out of Elias. He was making a sandwich as she walked and didn't stop as he noticed her come in, "I hear congratulations are in order."

        "Oh?" Elias's voice had more emotion than Buffy's but it was cold and hostile emotion.

        "Buffy told me she's moving in with you. I mean you've wanted that for a while so it's good news right?" Willow was finding it increasingly hard not to get annoyed.

        Elias picked up the sandwich, "Yeah its good news Willow," he commented as he barged past her.

        Willow stared after him, as far as she was aware she hadn't done anything to upset Elias. She decided against pursuing it however, Willow was determined to hold on to what was left of her good mood as long as possible.



3. "Miles To Go"




Tara tried not to look furtive as she and Willow walked into the Magic Box, they hadn't really stolen anything by taking the tuning crystal out. If it belonged to anyone it was the demon they had taken it off years before and it certainly wasn't part of the shop's inventory. That hadn't stopped Tara feeling a small thrill when they snuck it out, or a little anxiety as they tried to put it back.

        "Oh good you got my message." Giles muttered distractedly as he pulled his nose out of the book he was reading.

        "Message?" Willow looked blank.

        Giles sighed, "About the demons you confronted last night. They usually run in larger packs. We're trying to determine where their hiding place might be."

        "Right, well we're here to help." Willow covered brightly.

        "So what have you got so far?" Tara asked, pulling Giles attention back to the books on the table.

        Willow climbed up the stairs while Giles was distracted. As soon as she was out of sight she phased out and hurried back down. As she reached the door to the basement Willow hesitated for a moment to steel herself before she walked through it; no matter how often they had been forced to do it neither witch was comfortable with passing through solid matter.

        Willow didn't dare phase back until she reached the floor of the basement. She moved quickly to take out the stone they had left in place of the tuning crystal and put the real thing back in its box. With that done she hustled back to the shop.

        Giles looked up again as willow rather ostentatiously stomped back down from the upper level with a couple of volumes in her hands, "Thought these might help."

        Giles couldn't quite see how the books in question were relevant but said nothing; at least they had actually turned up which was more than could be said for certain carpenters.

       

        With only the occasional interruption from customers the trio worked on the question of where the rest of the demons might be, assuming that there were any others. Tara didn't even look up as the bell jingled again, "There you two are." The harshness in the voice made it unrecognizable until she looked up and saw Elias standing there with Xander.

        "They're here helping me with research." Giles commented, the annoyance in his voice compounded by the facts that neither of the men had helped and now were disturbing his customers.

        Elias ignored the reproach, "I want to talk to you two," he pointed straight at Willow and Tara.

        Willow didn't appreciate the rudeness, "I'm not sure I want to talk to you right now."

        "Well I don't really care what you want right now." Elias retorted angrily.

        Before things descended into an outright battle Giles jumped in, "Could we please take this in the back before you scare off my remaining customers?"

        Willow nodded curtly and rose from the table with Tara beside her. They barged past Elias en route to the training room.

        The couple had moved to the furthest corner of the training room while Elias and Xander stayed next to the door. Giles found himself literally in the middle, "What exactly is your excuse for causing this mayhem in my store?"

        "They already know what this is about." Again Elias' gaze was fixed on Willow and Tara, "Why don't you tell us where you went last night after Xander left you at the house?"

        "I phoned you later," Xander explained shamefacedly as Willow looked at him sharply, "Thought you might change your mind about hitting the Bronze."

        "Except that you two changed your mind about 'an early night'." Elias flung it out as an accusation.

        Willow kept her face as passive as possible when Tara sent her a thought, I think we've been outed honey.

        Willow suspected Tara was right, that didn't she was going to be bullied by Elias Carter, "I don't think we have to give you a detailed explanation of where we went or what we did last night."

        Elias was equally determined, "But you could if you had to right? And prove it if you had to?"

        Willow wanted to announce haughtily, of course we could. And they could; if they were prepared to share everything they had been doing.

        Giles gave her a breathing space, "Elias you seem to be somewhat overwrought over a simple night out."

        "Giles you’d be right; except this has been going on for weeks. Willow and Tara have been sneaking around, making excuses and just generally sending out a signal loud and clear that they are up to something." Elias was daring the witches to deny it.

        "You have been kind of secretive." Xander reluctantly backed up Elias. He had been dismissive when Buffy’s boyfriend started up on his theory but bit by bit he had convinced Xander that there was some big secret Willow and Tara were hiding.

        "The pair of them touched a part of Glory's mind; who knows what that could have done to them?" Elias finally expressed the fear that had been building in him since he realised that the two witches were engaging in some sort of conspiracy. The fear that they might have been infected by Glory's insanity and they were about to see a rerun of what happened with Fire, only worse.

        Knowing how far off base Elias was Willow wasn't that upset by his behaviour. The sight of the barely suppressed panic in the eyes of Giles and Xander, that pissed her off, "You really believe this don't you? Willow's gone nuts with the magic again? I mean it makes sense, we couldn't be doing something private or something good could we?"

        Tara laid her hand on Willow's shoulder, "Honey going all dark eyed and yelling isn't persuading them."

        Willow hadn't realised that her eyes had changed, she was just so mad at her alleged friends. Elias was still quite clear that the couple hadn't answered his basic question, "So what the hell are you doing?"

        As tempting as it was to just leave them in suspense Willow answered anyway, "We were looking for the Key."

        It was like a bucket of cold water in the face for the guys. Willow simply stood and watched them. She knew it wasn't nice but she couldn't help taking a lot of satisfaction from their shock and discomfort.

        "Well that's the cat out of the bag." Tara commented quietly.

        Willow ignored the men and turned to Tara, "Never understood why you'd want a cat in the bag in the first place."

        Giles managed to pull himself together, "You said you were looking. Do you mean you are or have you found something?"

        Tara could see Willow was going to let them stew and even though she sympathised with Willow’s desire to make them squirm Tara decided she should tell them the whole of it, "We're pretty sure we found more than just the Key."

        That took even longer to sink in, "What are you going to do about it?" Elias by this point was thoroughly bewildered and his question was asked quite reasonably.

        Unfortunately Willow didn’t hear it that way, "What are we going to do? You mean like are we going to do a spell to get her back? Because we all know me doing magic is totally safe when it suits you guys right?" she didn't bother trying to keep the hurt out of her voice. Willow turned to Tara, "Come on let's go, I don't think we have anything else to say here."

        As they walked out of the door Xander opened his mouth and closed it again. Giles looked at Xander and Elias, "Well I'm going back to my customers. If there's anything you think we can do to make antagonize our friends or otherwise make matters worse please do let me know."



        Going back to the Summers house would mean putting a boiling mad Willow in the proximity of Buffy, and Tara was sure that was a terrible idea. Instead she steered Willow towards the coffee shop and parked her at a table while she went to get a couple of cold drinks; the last thing Willow needed was any caffeine right now.

        As Tara put the glass in front of her Willow opened up, "I can't believe after all we've been through they don't trust me."

        Tara took a sip from her drink. She knew Willow was just venting and she wasn’t inclined to defend the others behaviour anyway.

        "We should just leave them to it, see how far they get without us." Willow caught the dubious look on Tara's face, "Ok, ok, terrible idea. So what exactly do we do?"

        "Something quick." Tara responded, "Now that the others know Buffy's bound to find out."

        That had occurred to Willow and she could well imagine how Buffy would respond; she'd want Dawn back without worrying about the cost, and from painful experience Willow knew where that kind of thinking got you. Thinking back to the Fire Willow reached under her sweater and pulled out a locket, "Maybe it's time to use this."

        Tara looked at the locket, she had been happy to let Willow keep it since she had very mixed feelings about the people who had given it to them, "Do you really think we can trust the Circle?"

        "I don't know," Willow admitted, "they were kind of pompous but they did seem to be on the right side."

        "But they were willing to let you get blown up if things went wrong." Tara knew that Willow had needed to learn the limits of her abilities; she was far from sure that the Circle's teaching method was the best one.

        "Yeah, still if anyone can could find a teenager lost in infinite universes..." Willow let the thought trail off.

        "And if they agree to help it would be quick." Tara realised her own logic meant they didn't have a choice. They couldn't take the risk of losing the last of the Summers family. Tara also remembered her promise to Joyce to be there for Buffy and Dawn; right now the Circle might be the only way to keep that promise.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Reality Check 15: The Road Not Taken Pt2

Postby Sheridan » Fri May 30, 2003 5:20 pm

4. "You Can't Get There From Here"




It was a huge relief when the couple walked into the house to find Buffy was out, "Should we leave her a note or something?" Tara wondered.

        "What? ”Dear Buffy just stepped out of the universe to find Dawn. See you later or possibly never again." Willow instantly regretted the sarcasm, "Sorry baby, guess I'm wound a little tight."

        Tara smiled forgivingly, "Lot of that going around; it was sort of a dumb idea."

        "No it wasn't," Willow reassured her, "we should leave an explanation, just not here."

        Further discussion of the idea was cut off as the front door opened and Elias walked in. Willow and Tara instantly stiffened.

        Elias raised his hands in a surrender type gesture, "I didn't come here to fight."

        "How nice of you." Willow commented icily.

        "I came here to apologize, actually to give you a couple of apologies." Elias explained in a conciliatory tone.

        Willow wasn't the sort to stay mad at someone for long and she could see that Elias was genuinely sorry, "I did get kind of mad earlier."

        "You were entitled. I've been going crazy since that night in the yard, after I screwed everything up." Elias voice was bitter.

        "You tried to save Dawn." Tara reminded him sympathetically.

        Elias fixed her with a sorrowful gaze, "Yeah but whose knife did she cut herself on?"

        Willow wasn't feeling quite so sympathetic towards Elias and wanted off this emotional roller coaster, "Look I understand and I'm not just trying to get rid of you when I say we have stuff to do right now."

        Now Elias gave her a sheepish grin, "That brings me to my second apology, look in your bag."

        Willow was puzzled and rummaged through her shoulder bag until she came up with a transparent plastic square full of electronics, "You bugged my bag?" she demanded incredulously.

        "I did it this morning before you got up," Elias admitted, "And I'm sorry for not trusting you. I heard what you said at the coffee shop and I want to come with you."

        Willow threw her hands up in the air, "That's it! I can't take anymore of this!" She walked off and threw herself into a chair with her back to Elias.

        Tara reluctantly remained with him, "Elias you've had us under surveillance and you expect us to trust you and take with us? Why would we do that?"

        "Well I'm trained in firearms, unarmed combat, wilderness survival, and I used to be a boy scout." Elias ticked off his plus points.

        Tara looked towards Willow who was resolutely not listening. Tara had to admit to herself that Elias might sort of be useful since they had no idea where Dawn might be. She wasn't inclined to make it that easy for him however, "Elias all those skills don't matter if we can't trust you."

        Elias suddenly found he couldn't look Tara in the face, "Look I need to be a part of this and I could be useful. Don't jeopardize your chances just because you're mad at me."

        Willow turned around in the chair, "The Circle probably won't even let him in."

        Elias actually brightened at that, "Perfect." The witches looked at him uncertainly, "If this Circle won't let me in then fine I'm not wanted. If they put out the welcome mat then I go with you, ok?"

        Tara looked at Willow, if we don't agree we'll be here all day arguing.

        Willow shrugged, fine maybe they'll send him off for a tour of World's End. "Alright you can come along but the Circle might do worse than just boot you out."

        Elias nodded, "I can live with that," He opened the door again brought in a sports bag, "I brought some useful bits with me."

        "We won't be going just yet," Tara pointed out, "there are a couple of things we need to do first."



        Willow flexed her fingers trying to work out the cramp. Too much time using a keyboard had left her unused to writing long letters. For these documents though Willow had felt the need to do it by hand, a printout was too cold and dispassionate.

        The Magic Box was quiet when Willow walked in and Giles was grateful for that as he spotted her; if there was going to be another row at least there weren't that many customers to scare off. He was totally unprepared when Willow handed him a bundle of envelopes, "What are these?"

        "Letters to, everyone." Giles had spotted the one addressed to him and was about to open it when Willow stopped him, "Their not for right now. I know it's melodramatic but they're in case we sort of don't come back.”

        Giles now took a closer look at the letters; Xander, Buffy, Giles, Tara. That last one startled him, "Surely your not planning to do this without Tara?"

        "No it's just in case, I think she slipped one for me into your envelope." Willow knew that neither of them would admit to even having such thoughts to the other.

        Giles had been disturbed by what the letters implied and that was sliding towards outright panic, "Willow whatever was said before, whatever you thought was implied you have nothing to prove to anyone."

        Willow shook her head, "You don't understand Giles. Dawn being gone is my fault."

        "That is not so," Giles was emphatic, "sole responsibility rests with Glory and her minions."

        "But the last time she failed." Willow stated bluntly.

        Giles took a moment to understand what she was talking about, "When you went to the future, you met Buffy and Dawn.”

        "And that 'future' would be right around now." Willow paused for a moment; it was hard to believe four years had really gone by since that night in the graveyard.

        Giles realised he couldn't argue the point. Willow had changed the future and if it had brought benefits to some wasn't it inevitable that it would bring losses to others? He tidied the letters into a neat stack, "I'll keep these for now, but I expect you to take them back soon."

        Willow smiled, nodded, and then walked out of the Magic Box.



        It should have been me. The thought never left Buffy's head; it just bounced around and intruded into her consciousness randomly. That night when they had gone to the yard Buffy had been ready to sacrifice herself for Dawn; more than that, expected to make the sacrifice. She loved her friends dearly, and Elias absolutely but it had become crystal clear to Buffy that they couldn't go on like this; they had lives and they deserved a chance to live them without watching over they’re shoulders for the next apocalypse.

        Elias and Willow would of course tell her that she also deserved that chance but she was the Slayer, that ruled out any future other than fighting and dying.

        Elias was sat on the sofa as Buffy walked in and it hurt him that her expression didn't change as she saw him. He had been experiencing some anxiety about his decision to join Willow and Tara's quest; about leaving Buffy alone. Seeing her like this made it a little easier, you couldn't leave someone who wasn't there.

        Buffy dropped her bag on the table and finally seemed to notice Elias, "I saw a realtor, he's going to come out and look over the house on Friday."

        Elias frowned, "I don't think you should rush into selling the house."

        "It's not rushing," Buffy stated flatly, "it's been a millstone round my neck since mom died."

        "I could move in here, the financial situation isn't an issue." Elias had made the offer before. He simply didn't want Buffy doing anything irrevocable before they knew the outcome of this mission.

        Buffy's reply was resolute and bitter, "I just want it gone, if it won't sell I'll burn it to the ground."

        Elias gave up; short of telling her what they had planned there was no way to dissuade Buffy. He understood Willow's reluctance to discuss her investigation before, Buffy couldn't take any more blows; they had to have Dawn back in the here and now before they breathed a word. Elias got up and made for the door, "I know it all seems pretty dark right now but it will get better, I promise." Buffy didn't respond and Elias walked out to rendezvous with Willow and Tara.



        Tara had wound up being responsible for the amulet and setting up a bigger pentacle, which meant finding some place quiet and spacious. That had led Tara back to the tree by the old chapel again, it seemed symbolic somehow. Willow had been concerned that trying to transport three of them with one little amulet might be pressing their luck. She had implied that if it only transported the two of them then that would be ok as well.

        At first Tara had been as annoyed as Willow about Elias muscling in; this was their idea and their mission to put things right for Buffy and Dawn. Naturally Tara's better nature took over and she decided she was being unfair to Elias, who had a bigger stake in Buffy's happiness than him?

        As she was thinking of him Elias appeared carrying his sports bag; though Tara suspected the contents were far from sporting. He looked at the pentacle laid out on the grass a little dubiously, "Are we ready to go?"

        "Just waiting for Willow to get back," Tara hesitated before going on, "you could have left a letter for Buffy."

        "What could I say that would make things better if I don't come back?" Elias asked rhetorically.

        Tara was relieved of having to think about that by the appearance of Willow. The couple held each other for a moment, and then Willow took the vial from the locket and let the contents fall on to the ground.



5. “The More Things Change”




Elias hadn't really known what to expect from the Circle, and Willow and Tara had been somewhat unsure themselves. He was somewhat surprised as they appeared in the middle of a quiet meadow with a blue sky and a gentle breeze blowing.

        Elias wasn't nearly as relieved as Willow; she had been dreading another trip through the maze of World's end. She squeezed Tara's hand and smiled, at least this part of their mission was peaceful.

        "Come back you miserable SOB's!" The loud female shout had the three spinning on the spot. There were two oriental men in a sort of grey striped camouflage outfit and perhaps twenty paces behind them was a young woman with long dark hair and eyes set in a face that Willow thought looked like a younger version of Angelina Jolie. She was dressed in a tight dark blue jumpsuit with a patch on each shoulder. If the girl weren't quite so furious she would have been very attractive.

        The two men looked terrified and suddenly vanished in a rippling of the air. The woman came to a stop and stared at the space where they had disappeared, "You think that's going to save you? I'm going to kick your asses you mother..." The woman shut up as she became aware that she was being watched. As she turned to look at Willow, Tara, and Elias she did a double take and stared at the witches. Her expression grew pained and she threw her hands up in the air, "Great! Wonderful! No wonder they hate me!" The girl disappeared in a blast of light.



        Willow stared after her, "Do we know her?" she wondered.

        "No." Tara replied in a tone which suggested, you better not get to know her either.

        Willow wasn't used to jealousy from Tara, "Baby I just meant she acted like she knew us."

        Before the discussion could go any further a more familiar figure appeared in the meadow, the same woman the couple had met before, "Oh there you are, sorry I wasn't here to meet you, things have been rather busy."

        "Sort of noticed," Willow commented, "Some lunatic was chasing a couple of guys through here."

        The woman raised an eyebrow, "A girl with long dark?" Willow nodded, "Well that was unfortunate; still not your problem at the moment."

        Elias felt they were being sidetracked and decided to get back to why they were here before Willow could follow up that’ ‘for the moment’ comment, "You know why we're here right?"

        Willow winced at Elias' bluntness, she really didn't want to antagonize the Circle, "Elias sort of invited himself along."

        "We were expecting him." The woman pointed out, making Willow feel uncomfortable.

        Tara spared her any further discomfort by getting to the point, "Dawn is alive isn't she?"

        "Yes she is." The woman didn't bother to elaborate.

        "I don't suppose you could just summon her up or something?" Elias asked with more than a little sarcasm.

        The woman wasn't fazed by it, "We could but there would be complications to doing it." Elias didn't look surprised by the answer.

        This time Willow had to agree with Elias; the Circle seemed to delight in making them jump through hoops.

        Tara was also irritated but did a better job of hiding it, "What sort of complications?"

        "Dawn has become, entangled in events in the realm she’s in; if she was simply removed it could precipitate a catastrophe." The woman was earnest in her explanation.

        Willow though wasn't wholly convinced, "And of course that means we'll have to unentangle her doesn't it?"

        "Not at all," the woman was being irritatingly pleasant, "We could simply ignore the consequences and bring her here."

        Tara looked at Willow and could tell the woman had pushed her buttons; Willow wasn't about to let anyone suffer for her benefit. That didn't endear the woman to Tara, "Are you asking us too help you out?"

        The woman could hear the challenge in Tara's choice and knew there was no point in evading it, "We are taking advantage of your plight to obtain your assistance. That doesn't mean that what we are asking you to do isn't worth doing. The choice is yours, all three of you."

        Willow looked at Tara who took her hand to say, I go where you go. Willow then looked at Elias, "I have no idea what the hell is going on here; I'll follow your lead," He responded.

        Willow looked back at the woman, "Alright we'll go; just do it before we change our minds."

        The woman nodded and the trio faded out.



        There was a heartbeat before the three of them rematerialized. Willow resented the way her sense of guilt and responsibility had been used by the Circle. The problem was that she couldn't shake off those feelings even knowing they were being used against her. That didn't that mean she wasn't planning a nice long chat with the Circle about 'ends' and 'means'.

        The heartbeat passed and the three of them were stood under a tree, "Dammit they just sent us back where we started!" Elias exploded.

        Tara took a look around, "I don't think so, unless someone rebuilt the chapel while we were gone."

        The others turned around and saw that the chapel was definitely standing, in fact it looked as though there had been some effort to restore it to it's original state, "This is either another time or another world." Willow suggested.

        "Either way I guess we're not in Kansas anymore Toto," he looked embarrassed as Willow stared at him, "my parents made us watch the Wizard of Oz every Christmas ok?"

        Willow smiled and turned back to Tara, "So since we're elsewhere what should we do first?"

        "We could have got more intel from that woman in the meadow." Elias wasn't happy about how far out of his control this situation was getting, and whose fault is that? You weren't exactly invited. Just shut up and soldier Carter.

        "Trust me we didn't want to indebt ourselves with the Circle. I think we should do a little covert surveillance."

        Tara looked anxious, "Please tell me we can just use the concealment glamour."

        "I think we can stick with the tried and trusted," Willow reassured her, "besides since we have someone else to bring along I don't want to experiment with phasing."

        Elias hadn't really thought about the implication of the pairs magic discussion until Willow mentioned the 'someone else' part, "You want to put a spell on me?" He asked uneasily.

        Willow gave him an evil grin, “Hang out with witches you're going to get hexed," she thrust her hand out and Elias took it reluctantly. Before he could think about it any further Willow incanted the spell and Elias felt the magic pass through him. He had been afraid it would be like an electric shock or something, instead there was an instant when he felt energised, invigorated.

        "Is it always like that?" he asked.

        "No, it's actually a pretty simple spell." Willow explained.

        Elias tried to imagine what the big spells were like; for the first time he had an inkling as to why Willow had gotten so caught up in the magic. That physical sense of power along with the ability to make the universe do what you wanted; it would take a lot to resist getting carried away.

        The trio was walking through the campus and Willow was having a hard time not laughing at Elias' behaviour. He was having a hard time adapting to his invisible status and kept hopping out of people's way at the last second. "That's Patty from my psych class." Tara was pointing towards a brunette loaded down with books.

        Willow also vaguely recognized the girl as she had several others they had passed on their patrol. The other students appeared much as Willow remembered them; she couldn't swear to it but the hideous sweater she spotted on one girl looked extremely familiar, "Doesn't look like we've been shoved into the future."

        Tara agreed, "So I guess we won't be getting any help from the family."

        Tara smiled as she made the comment and Willow returned it; it would have been nice to have some help from their daughter but it was also good to let her get on with her life without the past constantly catching up with her; or vice versa.

        "Security obviously isn't up to much around here." Elias commented as they passed a lecture hall on the perimeter of the campus.

        Willow hadn't really been paying attention and simply asked over her shoulder, "What do you mean?"

        "Well being head of security here was only cover but I tried to make sure the place wasn't overrun with graffiti." Of all the insanity he had experienced recently the idea of this being an alternate reality had actually been about the easiest to deal with; partly because he didn’t really believe in it yet.

        Willow still wasn't really paying any attention, "Graffiti?"

        Elias was getting annoyed at the way he was being ignored and thrust an arm in front in Willow, "That graffiti."

        Willow glanced at where Elias was pointing and it was all she could not to scream. Scrawled on a wall was a red circle with a bar across it. Underneath it was painted the black outline of a tree.

        Elias hadn't noticed Willow's reaction, "What's it supposed to mean?"

        Willow fixed him with a bleak gaze, "It means, 'stop Willow'."



6. "Home Is Where The Heart Is"




Tara sat Willow down on a bench by the fountain. Neither of them had explained the impact of the bizarre piece of graffiti to Elias and he was feeling left out again, "Stop Willow doing what?" he asked for at least the fourth time.

        Tara took a deep breath, "The last time we came to see the Circle they sent us to a place called Worlds End. It was a sort of graveyard for all the realities that didn't survive, places where there was a nuclear war, or a meteor strike, or a plague."

        "Or I just wiped everyone out in a temper tantrum." Willow added glumly.

        Elias looked at Willow. Part of him found the notion of one person wiping out the entire planet ridiculous. The other part remembered the power he had seen when Willow absorbed the Fire and the sensation when Willow had worked the concealment glamour, "You have more control than that, I've seen you show it, most recently when you turned down the jerk who wanted you to make Dawn appear with a snap of your fingers."

        Willow brightened a little at that, "Maybe, but that wall scrawl means things are different here."

        "So lets find out how different." Tara suggested; she didn't want Willow dwelling on the death of worlds.

        "We need to go somewhere and dig up as much as we can on exactly what's happening here, preferably without running into ourselves." Elias could only hope that made sense.

        Willow did manage to untangle the meaning, "I can think of one place."



        When she was little Sunnydale public library had been like a second home to Willow; or possibly a first home since she seemed to spend far more time talking to the librarians than to her parents. The acquisition of her first computer and internet connection had spelt the beginning of the end of those long Saturday afternoons spent hiding among the stacks. Her changing taste in reading matter had been the final nail in the coffin; the library wasn't big on occult texts.

        The three of them had dropped the concealment glamour before they went into the library and Willow had been more than a little relieved that no one had run screaming at the sight of her. She was also glad to find that the library's internet terminals were free, so no one could look over her shoulder and see her unique methods for getting more out of a connection.

        The passwords that protected Sunnydale's public records were practically identical to the ones Willow knew, though the university admissions office was using 'Magnum Force' rather than 'Dirty Harry'.

        "So how bad is it?" Tara wondered as Willow scrolled through page after page of text. She was stood over Willows shoulder acting as lookout in case any of the librarians got curious.

        "I've been through admissions, accommodation, class enrolments and I can't find me or Buffy or Elias. We never went to UC Sunnydale in this world."

        "We never went?" Tara asked significantly.

        "Actually you were," Willow replied dryly, "I found your enrolment record."

        "I don't think I like that," Tara sounded distinctly unhappy, "Being there without you."

        "Well you aren't anymore, you dropped out last year." Willow tapped the screen to indicate a series of 'incomplete' course listings.

        Tara gave her a half smile, "I don't think that makes things better honey."

        A pile of folders dropped on the table next to Willow, "Any sign of me in there?" Elias wondered. He had drawn the short straw of pawing through the shelves to come up with the back issues of the local newspapers. Hopes that they might have been reduced to microfilm had been dashed by the sight of the seemingly infinite stacks of dusty folders.

        Willow shook her head, "No but I did find Professor Walsh and Riley Finn in here."

        "Finn? Wonderful." Elias responded sourly.

        It was a distraction but Willow couldn't help asking, "Is it a personal thing with you and him?"

        "I just don't like his whole 'mom and apple pie' veneer. It seems phony when you're trained to snap someone's neck with your bare hands," he spotted a horrified look on Tara's face, "I said I was trained; I've never actually done it."

        Willow hastily turned to the pile of folders, "What did you find in there?"

        Elias picked up a folder and slid out a plastic wrapped newspaper, "I'm not an expert on Sunnydale history but Buffy did tell me all about blowing up the high school, in fact she seemed to really enjoy telling me about it so this didn't look right." The newspaper headline was lurid; 'Mayor killed in freak lightning strike!'

        Willow took the paper and Elias explained the details to Tara, "Apparently the mayor and the school principal were struck by lightning right in the middle of the commencement speech. The paper says the storm came up suddenly when the eclipse started."

        Willow read the paper and put it back in the folder, "Something is seriously out of whack here."

        "But it does sound like the Mayor was working the ascension; so it’s close." Tara pointed out.

        "yeah because all we’ve found so far are the bad guys." Elias added.

        The browser beeped at them and Willow turned her attention back to the computer, "I started a search of the property records and it says the Summers house belongs to someone called Brown and Xander's apartment is being rented by a person named Ramirez," Willow scrolled the screen, "but there is still an apartment being rented by one Rupert Giles."

        "You want to go and see him?" Tara didn't think it was a good idea.

        "No, well not yet anyway." Willow conceded.

        Elias scooped the folders back up, "I'll put these things back, unless you think there's anything that's going to help us find Dawn?"

        Willow blushed; she had become so caught up in the details of the investigation she had actually forgotten what they were looking for, "No, no, we might as well hit the streets."



        The trio made their way down the steps of the library. They had decided that there was no need to restore the concealment glamour. Elias stopped halfway down, "That's definitely not encouraging."

        Willow and Tara looked at the pair of police officers who were quizzing a man on the sidewalk. Willow assumed they were police officers because of the badges and the dark blue of their uniforms; otherwise they could have been taken for combat troops with Kevlar helmets and full body armour. Their police car was just as over done; a black and white painted Humvee.

        "Looks like they're ready for trouble." Elias commented as the police drove.

        Willow looked after them unhappily, "Looks like they're ready for war."

        Tara wished that they had appeared in a world that was completely different from their own; that would have been easier to deal with. Instead she kept forgetting that they weren't home until some new wrongness crossed her path, like those policemen. It jarred her, and even though she knew that it might be a little chauvinistic about her own world she couldn't help wondering, what went wrong here?

        Willow was staring at the sunset, "You know if we really want to know what's going on in Sunnydale we should go find ourselves some demons or vampires."

        "By the look of the cops it shouldn't be too hard to find some trouble." Elias agreed.

        Tara didn't like the idea of wandering around this not quite right place by night but if they were going to find Dawn what choice did they have but to explore this Sunnydale's underworld? "I suppose the graveyards will be in the same place."

        "More than likely," Elias responded, "And it will be a great chance to try this," he opened the top of the sports bag and Willow looked in to see a water pistol like shape lying on top of a selection of other hardware.

        "Is that the flame gun? Buffy told me that it broke after one shot." She was dubious about trusting this experimental hardware.

        Elias tried to be reassuring, "That was the mark one; this is the mark two. It's much tougher and it should shoot a lot further."

        Willow shook her head, "I think I'll stick with plain old fashioned witchcraft."

        "Right, none of this weird technology stuff." Tara agreed and the couple laughed at their little joke. Elias sighed inwardly, perhaps he should have dragged Xander along to balance things out, then again Xander would probably have sided with Willow, "Come on let's go make some trouble."

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Reality Check 15: The Road Not Taken Pt3

Postby Sheridan » Fri May 30, 2003 5:22 pm

7. “Sooner or Later We All Sleep Alone”




"Is this place fuller than I remember?" Willow wondered out loud.

        Tara looked around, "I think your just imagining things." The graveyard didn't seem anymore crowed or any larger than it's counterpart on their world, it was a little different but not actually any bigger.

        The three of them had made their way to the nearest graveyard just as night was falling. En route they had spotted several more police Humvee's; all headed in the direction of Sunnydale PD headquarters. Apparently they didn't like being on the streets after dark.

        Elias didn't appreciate the noise level the two witches were generating; it went against all his basic training. Even though they were actually trying to locate some demons he would rather find them than the other way round.

As it happened the demons clearly weren't paying attention as the former soldier spotted a pair leaning against a tomb. They were roughly human shaped with a glossy grey skin and a beak like mouth.

        "I don't recognize the type." Willow whispered as she hunkered down besides Elias.

        "They don't look anything special." Elias responded. The demons might have some concealed capabilities but with two witches and his selection of hardware it shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

        Tara nudged him in the ribs, "I think we have more company."

        Willow and Elias looked around to see a pair of vampires working their way through the tombstones, "This could get messy." Elias suggested, the various demonic classes didn't like sharing their hunting grounds.

        The grey demons got to their feet as the vampires approached but did nothing. The vampires were unsurprised by the presence of the glossy demons, who began to make a sound not unlike chickens clucking.

        "Yeah, yeah, well we're all that's coming." One of the vampires responded. The demons made more clucking sounds, "Chip head with a gallon of gas and a match, you can figure out the rest." The vampire explained bitterly.

        The grey demons shook their heads and the four monsters grouped up. I think we should move, Willow commented silently.

        Elias almost jumped at Willow's thought in his head but nodded and pulled out the flame gun. He thought of a couple of strategic ideas and then tossed them out. He rolled to his left and came with the flame gun levelled at one of the vampires.

        Willow and Tara simply jumped to their feet and let fly with some firebolts. The grey demons threw themselves into the path of the magical energy. They shrieked and staggered as they were hit but they didn't fall to the ground. The vampire Elias was engaging ducked and weaved but he anticipated the creature's moves and a jet of flame caught it in the shoulder and in moments it vanished in a cloud of dust.

        Willow and Tara changed tack; Willow stamped her foot in what looked like a fit of pique. It set off a ripple in the earth that raced towards the grey demons. As it reached them it reared up and knocked the demons down, half burying them. The couple rushed out from behind the tombstone and joined hands. A bolt of lightning plowed into the dirt and the two demons twitched and jerked before their skins cracked and they collapsed into their semi graves.

        As they were dealing with the demons the couple had forgotten about the remaining vampire and they were now between the creature and Elias. The demon wasn't motivated so much by revenge as hunger as it leapt towards Tara. The blonde tried to move but stumbled in the disturbed earth and fell backwards.

        Willow saw the blur of movement but couldn't react in time. Her rising horror turned to relief as the vampire twisted in the air and crashed to the ground. It vanished in a cloud of dust and a crossbow bolt fell to the ground. She spun around to see where it had come from and saw a form silhouetted in the moonlight. As she saw the shape and the way the figure moved one thought passed through her head; Buffy? Then she realised the figure was taller than the Slayer and had long hair, "Dawn?"

        The figure stopped, "Willow?" she asked cautiously without coming any closer. Before Willow could reply Tara had gotten back to her feet and Elias had raced to their side to provide cover. As soon as she saw the three together Dawn Summers dropped her crossbow and rushed towards them.

        Tara could barely focus on Dawn as the teenager was bouncing around so much from sheer excitement, "I knew you'd come, well I hoped you'd come. No I knew it."

        Tara raised her hand to still the teen. As soon as she stopped moving Tara threw her arms around, "It's good to see you Dawnie," she murmured, her voice thick with barely contained elation.

        As soon as Tara released Dawn Willow grabbed her, "What took you so long?" Dawn asked teasingly.

        "Well you know, we went for coffee, alphabetized my bookshelves." Willow stopped as Dawn cuffed her on the shoulder.

        Elias had hung back a little feeling awkward in all the celebration. Dawn turned towards him and looked embarrassed, "I'm really sorry Elias, you get me free and I mess it up by cutting myself, I'm really, really, sorry."

        "Accidents happen." Elias mumbled and decided to inspect the flame gun; which was difficult as his vision was blurring.

        In the silence that followed the sound of footsteps in the graveyard were quite distinct. Dawn became energised again, "Hide!"

        Willow was taken aback, "What?"

        "Please. Elias can stay but you two need to hide. You'll understand why but just do it now." Faced with Dawn's desperate insistence Willow and Tara withdrew behind the same tomb the grey demons had been leaning against.

        They had barely ducked out of sight when a voice called out, "Dawn are you ok?" The owner of the voice came round the corner and froze in surprise as she saw Dawn had company.

        It was nothing to the shock Dawn's friends experienced. The hair was short and untidy, the boy band t-shirt was incongruous and the jeans were patched and worn. The face however was unmistakably that of Tara Maclay.

        "I'm ok Tara," Dawn hastily reassured her, "This is a friend of mine."

        The other Tara didn't look reassured, "I didn't think you knew anyone here."

        Elias stepped up to the bat, "I've known Dawn for a while but I'm not from around here."

        "Oh you're from where Dawn comes from." Tara made it sound more like a question than a comment.

        "That's right," Dawn continued to sound reassuring, "And he isn't alone. I want to introduce them to you but you have to promise you won't freak out."

        "I promise." The alternate Tara replied unconvincingly.

        Dawn knew that was the best she was going to get, "You can come out now."

        Willow looked to Tara; she appeared far from enthusiastic about facing her alternate. She squeezed Tara's hand, "Hey I had to face my evil self, twice if you count the vampire."

        Tara relaxed, "Right, and why haven't I seen that leather outfit lately?"

        Willow got to her feet, "I'll dig it out as soon as we get back."

        The alternate Tara's promise to remain calm was put to a severe test as Willow stepped out from behind the tomb, and it practically crumbled as Tara appeared.

        Dawn had to throw an arm around the alternate as her knees buckled, only to find that she couldn't support the alternate's weight. Dawn was spared embarrassment of winding up in a heap as Elias took the alternate's other arm.

        "You're Willow Rosenberg," the alternate managed to get out and turned to look at Tara, "and you're, you're me."

        Tara managed to keep the smile on her face, "Well not quite."

        Dawn disentangled herself from the alternate, "Remember what I told you about my world? That I knew someone like you there? Well this is her. They're the good guys."

        The alternate looked at Dawn plaintively, "Are you sure?"

        Willow would have been offended but having seen the graffiti earlier it was a legitimate question, "Like Dawn probably told you, things are different where I come from."

        Willow put on her most winning smile as she spoke and the alternate hesitantly smiled back, "They must be." She turned to Dawn, "I think we should go and see Giles; he might understand what's going on."

        Dawn turned to Willow and Tara, "That might be a good idea. You could explain why you're here and anything else you have on your mind."

        Willow and Tara took the hint, what don't you want her to hear?

        It isn't that so much as don't want to make her more anxious than she is,
Dawn explained. I can't just leave here Willow, we have to help her. Things are really messed up here.

        Dawn's thoughts were filled with tension since she was sure Willow was going to insist on getting out of here as quickly as possible. She was totally taken aback by Willow's response, I know and we aren't going anywhere until we find out how to fix it.



8. “We Don't Talk Anymore”




As they walked to Giles apartment there was a subtle rearrangement in the group. Dawn dropped back and walked between Elias and Tara while Willow stepped forward to walk alongside the alternate Tara.

        This was all Dawn’s idea. She had suggested that she should fill Tara and Elias in on her arrival here while Willow tried to win over the alternate Tara. Dawn had been very clear that Willow was the best qualified to do that.

        Willow had been surprised by the confidence and determination Dawn had shown; the teenager had changed since they had last seen her but then being dropped into an alien world could do that to you. She decided that Dawn probably knew what she was talking about and opened up a conversation as best she could, "Sorry about scaring you earlier."

        The alternate tried to keep up a brave front; "It was just a shock, seeing myself like that."

        "Now that I can understand." Willow responded. She was staring at the alternate and apart from the hair it was amazing how close she was to her Tara, even the look in her eyes was familiar.

        The alternate noticed the wistful smile on Willow's face, "What's the matter?"

        "I just remember that look. I got off a bus in a little town called Quincy," the alternate raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt, "I looked across the street and there was this girl with long blonde hair. She turned and looked at me and then she got that same look in her eyes."

        The alternate blushed, "So you met me, her, in Quincy?"

        "Actually I went there looking for her, I knew we were supposed to be together before I ever met her." Willow felt a warm glow recalling that time, and by the look of her the alternate was getting a little bit of a glow as well, "Do you have someone?" Willow asked.

        "No there's no one here for me." The way the alternate said it tore at Willow's heart. It wasn't her Tara but still Willow hated to see her pain. She wanted to offer the alternate some sympathy but Willow had the feeling that might just make things harder on this incarnation of Tara.



        Dawn's conversation with Elias and Tara was a lot less charged; "I was lying on a patch of grass sort of expecting someone with a halo or wings."

        "Or a pitchfork." Elias suggested in a deadpan manner.

        Dawn gave him a withering look, "Or something to come along. After ten minutes I realized I must be still alive. So I got up and went home."

        Tara could guess what was coming next, "But home wasn't home."

        "No it wasn't but Mr. Brown was very nice considering and explained he bought the house a year ago. I thought I'd travelled through time like Willow until I saw a newspaper." Dawn continued.

        Tara nodded along, "So you figured out that this wasn't our world?"

        "I remembered Willow talking about alternate realities and I sort of figured out." Dawn tried to make it sound simple; actually she had wracked her brains for hours before she came up with it. As the others were digesting that Dawn decided to ask the question that she had been hesitating about since she had seen the trio, "So where's Buffy?"

        Tara and Elias exchanged glances and Elias decided to field the question, "She doesn't know we're here Dawn; in fact she doesn't know we found you."

        "You didn't tell her?" Dawn sounded distinctly upset.

        Tara tried to explain as gently as possible, "She's been taking it pretty hard since you, went away. We weren't sure we could get you home and if we couldn't it was best not to put that extra weight on her." Dawn didn’t look happy about that but she had to accept the others thought it was for the best. Tara decided to get back to Dawn's story, "How did you meet me?"

        Dawn smiled again, "I went to the mall to try and figure things out and there she was. I didn't even think about it, I just ran up to her and nearly scared her to death. She's just as nice as you though and we wound up talking. After I dropped enough hints about witchcraft and Slayers she introduced me to the others. I didn't tell them about being Buffy's sister though; they had a hard enough time believing my story already."

        "What are the others like?" Elias wanted to know.

        Dawn bit her lip, "I think you should meet them for yourself, you'll think I'm crazy if I explain it to you."

        Tara couldn't escape the suspicion that Dawn wanted to see the looks on their faces; if she wasn’t playing for dramatic effect then they could be in trouble.



        Giles looked at the pyramid of soda cans sat on his coffee table; clearly his requests for the others to be tidier had not produced the intended effect. The apartment looked like a battlefield and Giles was not going to clean it up by himself; perhaps when it became simply unlivable the others might deign to do something about it.

        When he heard the knock at the door Giles pulled the shotgun from the umbrella stand by the door; he wasn't expecting anyone right now and it paid to be cautious.

        The door opened to reveal Tara and Dawn standing there, "I thought you two were going to patrol for at least two hours?" The tone was distinctly accusatory.

        "Change of plan Giles," Dawn explained brightly, "we came across something important so we rushed right over."

        Giles was skeptical, "And what was so important?"

        "Could you put the shotgun away first?" Dawn pleaded.

        Giles was a little embarrassed to realise he still had it levelled at the girls. He put it back in the stand and stepped away to let Dawn and Tara in, and found himself looking at two Tara's and one Willow Rosenberg. He moved to grab the shotgun again but Elias grabbed his wrist and restrained him, "Nice attitude Giles, we’re just here to talk."

        The group trouped through the door and Giles tried to keep his gaze on Willow, though his attention couldn’t help wandering to the pair of Tara's. They weren't identical, in addition to having long hair there was an air about the newcomer that was different, it took a moment for Giles to realise that she didn’t seem as care worn as the one he knew, "If this is another robot Willow it's a poor attempt."

        Giles was disappointed at Willow's reaction to his jibe, she just looked confused, "Only robot I remember was Ted, well there was Moloch but he couldn't pass for a person."

        The alternate Tara could see how confused Giles was, "This isn't the Willow you know, she's a friend of Dawns.

        "They finally came looking for me." Dawn explained.

        Giles had been reluctant to believe Dawns story; especially as she was clearly keeping things from them, "You're from another world?"

        Willow and Tara pushed some paper off the sofa and sat down, "We really are. I know you don't have any reason to trust me but I am a different Willow Rosenberg."

        "How different?" Giles couldn't keep the edge out of his voice.

        Willow and Tara frowned. Tara looked at Dawn, "Could you help us out here?"

        Dawn knew this was the time to share some very unpleasant facts, "Willow you remember when Buffy ran away to Los Angeles and you went after her? Well here you didn't, Buffy didn't come back for nearly a year."

        "A year?" Willow was aghast, why on earth hadn't she gone looking? Then she saw the alternate Tara, would I have gone on my own? Would I even have known where to look? If no one went to find Buffy what were the odds that she would find something to make her decide to come home?

        Dawn had told Giles only the vaguest details about her world and she certainly hadn't mentioned this, "You brought Buffy home?"

        Willow was agitated, "Of course we did. We fought the mayor together. Took on the shadow, Glory, even after the whole Fire thing we were still friends!" she realized she was ranting and shut up.

        Giles hadn't really been buying this tale of alternate worlds, Willow's emotions were so plainly genuine that he disbelief began to crack, "None of what you were talking about rings a bell with me. You did defeat the mayor but you did it all by yourself, if you don't count the people you drained to power the weather spell."

        The way Giles said it 'drained' sounded pretty final. Tara could see how hard Willow was taking this. Even though they had tried to brace themselves since finding the graffiti it was still difficult to hear. She slid an arm around Willow and kissed her.

        Giles couldn't help staring. Neither Dawn nor the strange man who had accompanied them seemed remotely phased by this action and 'his' Tara looked somewhat envious. "Forgive me for being somewhat obvious but you two are a couple?"

        "Couldn't separate them with a crowbar." Elias smirked.

        Giles removed his glasses and polished them in a gesture that transcended universes. The rest of their tale had him half believing but the easy display of warmth and affection persuaded him this had to be a different Willow, "I think I need to make a phone call. We should have everyone together and then we can share everything. Though I don't think you're going to like it very much," he warned her.

        Willow sighed, "Wasn't really expecting to but I need to know." This world was becoming like one of her parents birthday parties; you wanted to leave but were obligated to stay. Willow just hoped they could fix things before the Karaoke started.



9. “All The Things She Said”




After Giles made his call there was an unspoken agreement to avoid discussing alternate realities and the details of this world until the others arrived. Elias had finally been introduced to Giles and they had fallen into a discussion of the relative merits of various weaponry.

        Dawn had taken up the space on the sofa next to Willow and had reopened an old discussion about the wedding; specifically who was going to be the bridegroom and could they find a tuxedo in Willow's size.

        Tara found herself in the kitchen with her alternate. The alternate kept looking over at Willow and Dawn. Her cheeks coloured as she realised Tara had spotted her, "Um your Willow seems very nice." The alternate knew it was lame she just couldn't think of anything else to say.

        Tara nodded, "Actually I like to think of her as unbelievably hot." The casual comment turned the alternate the colour of a beetroot. Tara had clearly hit on exactly what her other self was really thinking. She decided to give the girl a break, "How did you come to hook up with Giles and the others?"

        The alternate was glad to talk about anything other than Willow, "My dad and Donny came to take me out of the university. I ran and they chased me. Buffy intervened and when she found out I knew about witchcraft and explained about what they did I figured I had to help."

        Tara gave her an encouraging look, however she thought it all sounded a little cold blooded, a matter of obligation rather than friendship, "I'm sure there's someone out there for you."

        The alternate put a smile on her face, "That's what Dawn keeps saying as well."

        "She seems to be doing well here, you've done a good job of taking care of her." Tara had been anxious that they would find Dawn living on the streets or worse.

        "It's more like she's been looking after me," the alternate demurred, "she's way more positive than I am and she's always trying to cheer me up. I thought the stories she told me were just made up. Now I guess they must have been true.

        "Well I wouldn't believe all of them." Tara warned her. It had struck Tara that Dawn seemed much more 'take charge' than Tara had ever seen her be. Maybe it was just being out of the shadow of the Slayer, a change of location could do wonders for a person; as Tara well knew.

       

        The relaxed vibe that had settled over the room was broken as the front door was flung open and Buffy walked in; with Cordelia Chase and Spike right behind her.

        "What the hell is he doing here?" Elias demanded as he caught sight of the vampire.

        "What the hell is she doing here?" Buffy demanded pointing at Willow.

        Elias and the Slayer looked at one another angrily and seemed reluctant to break away. Spike very unsubtly stepped between them and looked around the room, "I'm here because I'm one of the good guys. You're a bleedin' villain," he addressed that last part to Willow with great relish.

        Willow's cool reaction took him by surprise, "You're talking to the wrong person Spike, and we both know why you're playing at being on the right side."

        The remark was firmly aimed at Spike but it was Buffy who reacted, she had a look of utter mortification, "Stay out of things that don't concern you. I still want to know why you're here."

        Giles had been waiting for a chance to get a word in, "Buffy that isn't Willow, well not the one you know."

        Cordelia rolled her eyes in disgust, "Oh not this again."

        Willow fixed Cordelia with an icy gaze, "We are from the same world as Dawn, we came to find her."

        Buffy was unmoved, "Well why don't you take her and go."

        That was too much for the alternate Tara, "Buffy you're being unfair."

        Buffy was going to give Tara a piece of her mind, and only at this point realised there were in fact two Tara's stood in the kitchen. That succeeded in shutting the Slayer up at least temporarily.

        Giles and Willow seized the opportunity to fill the late arrivals in on the world she came from; or as much as Willow was willing to share right now. She simply focused on the facts that separated to the two realities avoiding any personal details, what good would it do for Buffy to know that Elias was some alternates boyfriend? Willow also kept quiet about World's End; they were having a hard enough time with the idea of one alternate universe.

        Buffy had become increasingly agitated as Willow explained about the trip to LA and the defeat of the mayor, she simply couldn't accept what she was hearing, "It's all very sweet and noble but its too perfect. You come all the way to LA to bring me home and everything works out for the best. I don't think so."

        "Buffy it may be hard to believe but there is a certain logic to it. The smallest decisions can have huge consequences." Giles had been influenced less by Willow's story than her manner. It was like being with the Willow he had almost forgotten existed, the bright enthusiastic girl who had been the Slayer's best friend.

        "You're talking about chaos theory." Willow supplied, reinforcing Giles positive sense of her.

        Buffy snorted, "I'll give you chaos fact. She's here to confuse us and make us play her games." As she spoke Buffy walked towards Willow who sprang up from the sofa, "let me tell you what happened in the real world. You didn't perform any rescue mission. You sucked the life out of a bunch of people so you could blow up the mayor and when Giles and Oz told you that you had gone too far you just turned your back on them and dragged Xander off on your loony little crusade."

        What's Oz got to do with anything? Willow wondered but decided not to ask. Buffy was standing uncomfortably close and Willow decided that she wanted this not-quite-Buffy to back off. Willow didn't bother to answer Buffy's comment she simply stared at the Slayer and smiled in satisfaction as Buffy floated off the ground. Willow had the startled Slayer do a couple of pirouettes before setting her down next to Cordelia.

        Buffy was startled but reacted swiftly. She lunged towards Willow, and ran straight into an invisible barrier. She pulled back and tried again. This time Willow disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared in the kitchen, "I think that's enough Willow." Tara suggested. Willow nodded, Buffy and the others were staring at her but no one was moving towards her.

        "I don't know how powerful your Willow really is but I don't need to play mind games." Willow didn't like doing this, it reminded her too much of the Fire, however the others had to understand that if she was out to do them harm she didn't need some elaborate scheme.

        Giles looked at his companions and then turned back to Willow, "What exactly is you do want?"

        Willow took a breath “I want to help, I want to put things right before we go back." I want to save this place from Worlds End.

        Buffy turned to Giles and the pair whispered to one another, whatever was said Buffy didn't look happy, "Alright you want to help, maybe you and the 'other' Willow will cancel each other out."

        "You can't trust her." Spike admonished Buffy.

        Willow was expecting her to tear the vampires head off instead, she seemed inclined to be reassuring, "I'm not, we don't have anything to lose do we?"

        The vampire didn't look mollified and Willow was disturbed by Buffy's tolerance of his butting in. There were more important matters right now, "So apart from Xander does the other me have any other help?"

        "Plenty," Buffy sneered, "There's some ex-demon called Anya, a gadget freak called Warren Mears, and that freak Amy Madison."

        I had to ask. A quick look said that Tara was as horrified as Willow. Anya was a pain in the butt though she could actually be quite helpful sometimes. Warren and Amy though...

        "What makes Amy a freak?" Tara asked.

        Buffy got a nasty smile on her face, "She was one of the people Willow drained to power her weather spell. We all thought she was dead but a couple of months later she turns up and joins up with Willow. Girl must love the pain."

        Willow did the math and started to feel uneasy, "When she showed up again was it sort of at the beginning of the year at UC Sunnydale?"

        Elias and Tara caught on to what Willow was suggesting, "Well I suppose she must have wound up somewhere." Elias commented.

        The locals were looking puzzled and Willow's explanation didn’t exactly clear things up for the natives, "I don't think we're the first visitors you've had from out of town."

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Reality Check 15: The Road Not Taken Pt4

Postby Sheridan » Fri May 30, 2003 5:28 pm

10. "Queen Of Mean"




The cheap apartment house had been built on reclaimed land on the outskirts of Sunnydale. For a while it had looked like the construction project would be abandoned when they unearthed a huge carved stone that suggested the site might have archeological importance. Before the lawyers could draw up their battle lines the rock disappeared from Sunnydale museum; there were accusations and counter accusations but the rock never turned up and the building program went ahead.

        Amy fished in her pocket for her door keys and leant against the front door as she did so. She almost fell onto the living room floor as the door swung open under the pressure. Luckily for Amy she managed to grab the edge of the door and steady herself. As soon as she was upright again she readied a spell; whoever had broken in was going to pay.

        A light went on the living room; it was set behind Amy's one good chair and cast a shadow over it. There was enough light that Amy could make out someone was sat in it, "You took your time getting home." Willow scolded her.

        Amy let go of the spell and leant against the wall in her best slinky pose, "If you wanted to hang out all you had to do was say so."

        "Did I really? I wouldn't have thought you would want to spend time with me after all that's happened." Willow's tone was petulant.

        Amy began to feel fear creeping into her bones, if Willow turned against her she was in big trouble, "You know I don't hold that against you, it wasn't really me."

        "So that wasn't you with the stone demon then?" Now Willow's voice sounded amused. The main light in the living room came on and not only could Amy see the subtle differences with Willow she could see Tara stood behind the chair.

        "You!" Amy shrieked and lunged at Willow. Tara stretched out a hand and Amy was frozen in place.

        "Sit down Amy." Tara's voice was commanding, even after all this time she hadn’t forgiven Amy for the attempts she had made to driver them apart. The first time she had almost gotten them eaten by a werewolf and the second time she had set them against one another over a spell.

        Amy planted herself on the only other seat in the room, "I have every right to be mad. You completely screwed up my life and trapped me here with the wicked witch of the west."

        The sheer audacity of the statement left Willow and Tara speechless for a few seconds, "It wasn't us who clung on to stolen magic and got sucked out of the universe." Willow reminded her.

        "Right cause you're perfect and wouldn't never want more power than you had." Amy commented sarcastically.

        Willow tried not to react but she was concerned that Amy had somehow read her mind, "You don't have that power now right?"

        "I wouldn't be stuck sucking up to the other you if I did." Amy's bitterness was palpable.

        Tara had been noticing the outfit that Amy was wearing. She was clad in a short skirt, knee length high-heeled boots and a sweater with a v-neck that practically plunged to her navel, "Just far do you go to 'suck up'?"

        Amy flinched and broke eye contact, "Not that far."

        "You mean you dress like that for her? Wow the other me must be really far gone." Willow simply couldn't conceive being attracted to Amy.

        Far from being offended Amy grinned unpleasantly, "You know what's so funny? You know she's gay, I know she's gay, the only person who doesn’t know is her, heck she even dated guys."

        Tara glanced at Willow, "Now you're being ridiculous."

        Amy enjoyed the sensation of having the upper hand, "You see here there was no Tara Maclay," Amy seemed to rather like that idea, "and do you remember Oz? This Willow went out with him until he dumped her after the whole mayor thing."

        Willow's first instinct was to call Amy a liar. She hesitated because despite all that had happened since the lonely days before Tara were still burned into her brain. Back then she was still pining for Xander, what would she have done if some guy asked her out? Willow shook it off; Amy was trying to sidetrack them, "Look we're not here to talk about the past. We want to know where the local Willow's base is and what kind of defences it has."

        Amy gave them a disbelieving look, "So you've come here to persuade me to commit suicide? I don't think so."

        "We didn't wind up here by accident Amy," Willow decided that inducements were probably going to work better than threats here, "When we're finished we can go home and take you with us."

        Amy was distinctly unconvinced, "Assuming that Willow doesn't kill me first. I think I'd rather be alive here than in a grave back home."

        Now Willow saw the chance to play her trump card, "Actually that isn't a choice. You see some time, probably pretty soon, this world's Willow will kill everyone, not just everyone in her gang, not just everyone in Sunnydale, everyone, everywhere."

        Amy wasn't going to be suckered by Willow again but everything that Willow was saying resonated with her own anxieties. Even when she had met the alternate Willow that first night here she had been kind of unstable, and the last two years hadn't exactly improved her demeanour. Maybe it was worth taking the risk to be out from under the thumb of Willow Rosenberg, "Ok, there's a nightclub called 'The Palace'..."



        Finding the nightclub wasn't the hardest task in the world, since it happened to be on the precise same spot as their old familiar Bronze. Tara had taken a walk round the block as nonchalantly as she could, feeling out the magical energies as she went. Amy's story about the other Willow's base being in the basement of a nightclub had seemed more than a little dubious. The wards that had written into the fabric of the building dispelled those doubts.

        Willow had been hiding in a nearby alley and keeping an eye on her fiancée. They had decided that the sight of Willow might cause some awkward reactions. That didn't mean that Willow was happy about Tara being in the line of fire and she breathed an audible sigh of relief when Tara rejoined her, "Well there are definitely wards and they are powerful but sort of, clunky."

        "Clunky?" Willow smiled at the description.

        Tara took it in a good spirit, "Well maybe crude would be a better. There's nothing subtle about it."

        Willow could tell there was more on Tara's mind than simply poor quality magic, "Come on baby, spill."

        "Doesn't it seem weird that no one has even tried to stop this Willow? I mean they could have tried tranquillising her with a dart or drugging her when she was asleep, or some sort of spell." Tara hesitated when she saw the look she was getting from Willow, "When I was trying to free you from the Fire I went over a lot of plans."

        That made Willow relax and she thought about what Tara had said, "It is kind of odd, we did sort of find this place pretty quickly, and the defences aren't impenetrable."

        Tara had come up with an idea, "Maybe there's just some ingredient missing from the Scooby gang."

        "You mean Xander?" Willow took a few seconds to come up with that flip response; she knew full well what Tara meant. "We should go see what I've been up to," she suggested to further cover her embarrassment.



        The wards around the nightclub had designed to ward off demons and basic scrying magic; they weren't designed to cope with phased entities simply walking through the walls. The inside of the club was a nightmare; there was no way to avoid colliding with other people. Willow gulped down a lungful of air and leant against a pillar. She kept trying to remind herself that she wasn't really mixing with those people; she was sliding past them. It wasn't working; she was still nauseous. Tara looked as bad as she felt, "Come on baby, let's just run for the door."

        Tara nodded and the pair steeled themselves. The door to the storeroom was barely thirty feet away but they still passed through half a dozen people en route. Willow threw herself threw the door with Tara barely a step behind her. Willow placed her hands against the wall and drew a shuddering breath. Tara collapsed beside her and closed her eyes for a moment. When she could focus Tara rummaged in her purse and produced a small packet of tablets. She swallowed a couple of them and handed two more to Willow, "Travel sickness pills," she explained.

        Willow took them gratefully. The sensation in her stomach reminded her of the last time she had been on a roller coaster. The tablets might work; especially if she believed they would.

        After a couple of minutes Willow turned her attention to the floor; there was a trapdoor that led to the supposedly disused basement of the club. It was amazing that Sunnydale didn't just disappear into the earth with all the basements, caves, caverns, and buried buildings under it.

        Getting through the trapdoor while phased proved trickier that either of them had anticipated. By it's very nature the spell was designed not to let them go through the floor; otherwise they could wind up at the centre of the earth. In the end Willow found herself sat on the floor with her legs stretched out over the trapdoor and pushed downwards hard. Finding her feet on a step she got up and slowly slid through. Once she was inside Willow stretched an arm back up and pulled Tara through.

        Tara had been expecting to find a dark, dank, space. Instead the basement was brightly lit and well painted; neat and orderly in other words, "Well it's certainly a Willow sort of hideout, she probably even has a cleaner."

        Willow stuck her tongue out at Tara in response and then smiled. The basement had clearly been considerable expanded and Willow thought that it bore a resemblance to the Initiative, maybe more than a resemblance.

        Tara realised Willow had stopped and saw her staring at a light fitting, "What's the matter?"

        "I'm sure these are the same lights they had in the Initiative." Willow gestured at them as she spoke.

        Tara thought Willow was carrying attention to detail a little too far, "Well maybe she got them from the same place."

        Willow gave Tara a serious look, "Or maybe they actually came from the Initiative."

        There was a certain logic to it Tara decided, if you were going to build an underground hideout why start from scratch when you could just loot somebody else's? "I don't suppose they just gave her the stuff?"

        Willow shook her head, "Uh uh, and I bet she took more than just some light fittings." The Initiative had been an Aladdin's cave of gadgets and gizmos, or maybe more of a Pandora's Box, Willow thought uneasily.



11. “In The Middle Of The Night”




Warren was not a happy nerd. When Willow had found out about his project to create the perfect girlfriend she had been both disgusted and intrigued and had asked him to join her little group. Once he saw the lab she didn't even need the implied or else. The place had every device Warren had ever imagined and a few he hadn't suspected existed.

        That uniqueness was the reason for Warren's current unhappiness. This equipment was fragile and in need of frequent maintenance. Since it wasn't like he could just pick up the parts from Radio Shack he was being reduced to the status of maintenance man.

        "When will the next batch be ready?" A soft female voice behind him enquired.

        Warren had to grit his teeth to restrain a rather girly scream. Willow had walked in without making a sound. Although he would never be stupid enough to say it out loud Warren had once thought Willow was sort of cute. That was a long time ago however. Now Willow wore her hair in a severe ponytail and its jet-black colour just made her skin look deathly pale. She was dressed in a black sweater and long black skirt. The only lively thing about her was her eyes; they burned with energy and a predatory regard that made Warren uncomfortable looking straight at her. He tried to keep his voice steady as he replied, "There's a problem."

        Willow's withering gaze made him wish the earth would just open up and swallow him, a thought he hastily buried as it was all too likely to be granted if he wasn't careful here, "What sort of problem?" Willow demanded threateningly.

        "I can't make chips without the laser etcher, and the actual laser part is busted. The electronics I could fix but I can't even find any place I could steal the laser parts." Warren knew he was babbling but it was important that Willow understood it wasn't his fault.

        She stared at him for a very long moment, "Show me."

        Warren led her swiftly over to the laser tool, "This is it."

        Willow peered at the device and her eyes turned dark. Warren backed away; he hated it when she did this. Willow stretched out her hand and tendrils of dark energy flowed into the equipment. A readout that had been blank sprang into life demanding that the laser be calibrated. Willow turned back to Warren, "There, it'll work as good as new. Now get the job done. We're this close to bringing about a total demon defeat and we can't do it without those chips," she swept out of the lab and Warren wisely kept his mouth shut as he watched her go.

        Donning a pair of gloves Warren picked up a chip from a tray and inserted it into the etching machine. Once the computer program was started Warren dug out the pulp novel he had been reading. He put it back when he heard feet stomping down the corridor. Xander looked like he had just gotten up; of course he always looked that way. His hair was unbrushed and he had several days of stubble. "What do you want Harris?" Warren did his best to sound busy and distracted.

        Xander ignored the attitude, "Came to see how you were doing, Willow wasn't happy with the delays."

        "Already explained and fixed. Tough break Harris, guess you don't get to show her you can be useful." Warren sneered.

        The comment scored a clear hit on Xander, "I don't have to justify myself; I'm Willow's friend."

        While it might be an alternate universe this Warren shared a lot with his counterpart; especially a love of watching others squirm, "Right, the guy she keeps around so she can believe this is still the good old days, fighting the good fight."

        The dig at Willow hit Xander even harder than the attack on his own status, "She is fighting the good fight; we're going to beat the demons."

        Warren fixed him with a pitying look, "Right and then we'll just kiss and make up with the rest of her old friends," he hefted one of the chips in his gloved hand, "look Harris why do you think the army guys tested these on a vampire? Because it's the closest thing to human they could test it on. Clearing the demons out of this town will just be the start, you'll see."

        Xander balled up a fist as Warren turned away from him. He lowered it as it occurred to him what Willow might say, or do, if he put the nerd out of commission. Dejected he turned around and walked out.



        Huddled in a corner Willow and Tara had watched the exchanges with a growing horror, " If I ever get any crazy ideas about dyeing my hair remind me black isn’t a good colour."

        "I don’t think that was hair dye." Tara pointed out.

        "Let's get out of here." Willow suggested. Tara nodded and the pair marched out into the corridor. Tara had held her breath when the other Willow appeared; afraid that she would see through the phasing spell. Once it became clear that she couldn't Tara began to take in the differences between this alternate and her Willow. Neither of them wanted to discuss the obvious point; that this alternate was behaving just the way the Fire saturated Willow had. The difference was that this version had been running out of control for years. Would there be enough of her good side left to split off even if we had Toth's staff? tara had been wondering if some variation of her plan to be the Fire might help here, it didn’t look like it since as far as she could see this power was firmly a part of Willow.

        Putting some distance between themselves and the nightclub made Willow feel infinitely better. They dropped the phasing spell and enjoyed the feeling of the cool night air, "I'm trying to think of the right word to describe that experience." Willow finally said.

        "I think we should just settle for 'indescribable'." Tara suggested.

        Willow nodded, "That sounds about right."

        "Uh huh, and I think I know the answer to what was bugging me earlier." Tara couldn't help feeling a little pleased to see Willow looking puzzled for once.



        Elias had grabbed a book from Giles bookshelf. He couldn't make head nor tails of the contents but anything was better than confronting the hostile atmosphere in the apartment. He surreptitiously kept an eye on Spike and he didn't like what he saw one little bit. The vampire was hanging around Buffy, and not in the distant way that Elias was used to. Spike was practically pressed against her and then Elias saw something that made his blood run cold; he saw Spike slide a hand onto Buffy's hip and she simply allowed the gesture. Her only response was to give the vampire a not now look.

        Elias looked away and caught Dawn's eye, by the troubled look on her face she had seen the gesture and it meant exactly what it appeared to. Now Elias understood why the teen had been so reluctant to fill in the details earlier; he simply wouldn't have believed her.

        The appalling train of thought meant that he didn't notice when Buffy broke away from Spike and crossed over to him, "How long have you known Willow?"

        Elias was a little discomfited to have Buffy fixing him with such a steely gaze. Unlike the alternate Tara this Buffy was practically identical to his homegrown version, "Met her at UC Sunnydale, she was there with you and Tara."

        "I was at college?" That surprised Buffy.

        "Actually you could have gone to a lot of good colleges but with the Hellmouth and everything you stayed in Sunnydale," luckily for me, Elias didn't add.

        Buffy processed that and then asked the question she really wanted the answer to, "How long have you been engaged to her?"

        Elias dropped the book, "I'm sorry?"

        "You came all this way and I saw her engagement ring." Buffy was speaking as if addressing a small child and looked annoyed when she was drowned out by the sound of Elias' laughter.

        Dawn rushed out of the kitchen, "What's going on?"

        "I just asked him how long he had been engaged to Willow." Buffy barely got the words out before Dawn gave into a fit of laughter.

        Luckily Dawn could see how mad Buffy was getting and managed to get her giggles under control, "That engagement ring belonged to Tara's grandmother. I was right there the night Willow proposed to her."

        Now Buffy was staring, trying to decide if they were playing some sort of weird joke. Elias could see her indecision, "It's true, why do you think they act like their joined at the hip?"

        Buffy was both embarrassed and annoyed so she decided to raise the obvious question, "Why are you here then?"

        Elias knew he had to give a convincing answer and he had to hope Dawn really hadn't given Buffy any hints their being blood kin, "Because I love Dawn's sister and she's torn up over losing her. I came here for her," he gave Dawn a warning look and to her credit the teenager kept a straight face and said nothing.



        Walking in Willow and Tara saw this odd tableau and were instantly worried; they didn't need any more trouble with the locals than they already had, "Problems?" Willow asked pleasantly.

        Spike spoke up before anyone else could, "Just heard the good news, planning a big family are you?"

        Tara smiled at him sweetly, "Just the one." As far as we know, she silently added to Willow, who smiled broadly.

        The reply left Spike confused and silent so Willow turned to the important news, "We got in the other Willow's HQ."

        That got the attention of everyone in the room, "You got in?" Giles was skeptical.

        "Well when you are invisible and can walk through walls its not that hard." Willow tried to make it sound easy; she was just glad those travel sickness tablets had worked.

        Buffy wasn't wholly convinced but curiosity got the better of her, "So what did you find?"

        Tara took the lead, "Her place is huge and it looks like she picked the Initiative clean, including the means of making chips like the one Spike has."

        Elias military mind caught the implication; "She's using them on the demons."

        "That vampire we found in the graveyard was complaining about one of its own carrying out some sort of suicide attack, now we know why." Willow filled in the details for the others.

        Giles looked at Buffy, "That would explain the constant fighting amongst the demons, Willow has turned them against one another to wipe them out."

        Buffy turned to Willow, "So she's doing what I can't, winning the war against the bad guys. You must be proud of her."

        "Of course not." Willow's vehement response took Buffy aback, "She's got power and she isn't going to surrender it without a fight. She won't stop when the demons are beaten, she'll just find some new excuse to use it," she hated agreeing with Warren Mears but the dweeb was right; there would never be an end to it.

        "What are you proposing?" Giles was finding it hard to keep up.

        "We stop her," Willow replied grimly, "we stop her now."



12. "A Time To Stand"




The way Willow spoke didn't leave much room for disagreement even if anyone was inclined to. "Exactly what did you have in mind?" Giles asked carefully.

        "Well since this is your turf I kind of hoped you would have some sort of ideas." Willow was being equally cautious.

        Giles looked to Buffy who nodded grudgingly, "We have been working on a plan. I've been researching a binding spell that would neutralise Willow's magic. Without that we might be able to reach her, reason with her."

        The Watcher sounded far from certain but Tara thought it might be feasible; without the magic the alternate might be reasoned with, might be, "Why haven't you tried it?"

        Now Giles found the living room floor fascinating, "It would have to be performed close to her. Plus whoever wields the spell would have to be stronger than she is. Those have appeared to be insurmountable problems."

        "Well maybe that's where we can help." Willow pointed out, "But I think we'll need some extra material. Giles do you happen to own a magic store?" She asked hopefully.

        To his credit Giles managed to frame a response fairly quickly, "No I don't; should I?"

        "It's not essential," Willow responded airily, "We can just take a run down to the Magic Box tonight."

        Giles didn't bother to mention it was closed by now, "You could just wait until it opens in the morning."

        "No, we can't count on Amy keeping her nerve so we have to work quickly. I’ll take Tara and Elias and go down there. The rest of you can get the spell together and some weapons in case things turn ugly." Willow spoke quickly to forestall any arguments.

        Elias was about to object and just as quickly changed his mind when Willow looked at him, "So I get to fetch and carry I assume."

        Willow shrugged, "Hey you wanted to come." Elias sighed and followed the pair back out of the front door.



        Spike walked out into the night air looking totally fed up. He was almost at the corner of the block when Willow stepped out from the bushes. He made to turn back and found himself facing Tara and Elias. "Gotten lost have we?" Spike had no intentions of revealing any nerves.

        Unlike Spike Willow was genuinely calm, "Actually we wondered where you were going?"

        Spike considered telling them what they could do with their question but there were three of them, "Well after you got the others fired up I couldn't stand the noise so I decided to go back to my crypt."

        "And Buffy wouldn't go with you." Elias stated harshly.

        Spike's grin told Elias what he wanted to know but the vampire couldn't resist driving the point home, "Not right now, no."

        Willow took advantage of the moment of distraction, "Where is your crypt?"

        Spike thumbed back over his shoulder in the direction he had just come from without thinking and the smile faded from his face to be replaced by utter confusion.

        "You were right baby." Willow looked past Spike to speak to Tara.

        Spike whirled around and gave Tara a hard look, "What were you right about."

        Tara wasn't fazed by Spikes aggressive stance; she could see the confusion and more than a little fear in his aura, "I just figured that with Buffy and Giles and the other me the gang should have gotten to this worlds Willow somehow; unless she had inside information to make sure they didn't."

        "And if anyone was going to sell them out, well who else but you?" Elias asked smugly.

        "And why would I do that? I've got everything I want thank you." Spike took a small satisfaction in the way that needled Elias.

        "You also have a chip," Tara reminded Spike, "and we found out that Willow stole the technology for making them from the Initiative. That means she must know how to program them; and reprogram them."

        Elias put it succinctly and cruelly, "Willow has you on remote control, every time the gang starts planning something you go running to her hideout and spill your guts."

        Tara was a little kinder, "You probably don't even remember doing it, I'm sure she blocks your memory afterwards. Think about it Spike, why were you heading towards the nightclub?"

        The vampire stared at them for a moment, "Oh bleedin' hell," he lunged at Tara and Elias and knocked them to the ground. Spike whirled to strike Willow and hesitated for a moment; the other Willow had naturally made sure he couldn't attack her. Willow used that moment and swept her hand through the air. Spike flew into the gutter and landed with a thud.

        The chips program finally caught up with reality and Spike grabbed a crushed soda can lying in the gutter and threw it at Willow. As she dodged Spike sprang to his feet to strike at her.

        Elias had recovered from the previous attack. Still in the prone position he pulled out the flame gun and fired. The jet caught Spike in the head and the vampire vanished in a cloud of dust. All that remained was small fragment of metal that skipped across the pavement; Spike had finally gotten the chip out.

        Elias helped Tara to her feet and they crossed to Willow who was looking at the chip. "I always thought that doing that would feel good," Elias commented, "and I was right," he added as he holstered the gun.

        Willow looked at him sharply, "We were just going to restrain him."

        "Right just leave things as we found them I suppose?" Elias challenged her.

        Willow didn't answer him; after all she had seen the same things he had. The interaction between Buffy and Spike left no doubt about their relationship; even if this was a different Buffy that couldn't be a good thing. Still that didn't mean Elias' solution was the right one.

        "This is not going to be easy to explain." Tara put into words what Willow was thinking.



        "You had no right to do that!" Buffy was incandescent with rage and only Willow's magic was stopping her from getting physical. Giles and Cordelia were lined up behind her. They weren't as outraged as Buffy but were clearly far from happy.

        Dawn and the alternate Tara were in the kitchen, neither sure who was in the right here, even though Dawn thought the idea of Buffy and Spike together was totally gross.

        "We didn't have much choice. He was under your Willow's control and he was going to sell us out; the way he's been selling you out all along." Elias wasn't in the mood to be diplomatic.

        "That's what you say, why the hell should we believe you?" Buffy demanded.

        If you can't calm things down then try staying quiet, Willow urged silently.

        Elias looked at her and shook his head, we're way past that; it's time they knew everything about where we come from and what we know. They need to know they can win.

        Willow relayed that Tara and she nodded, if they were going to win the others over there couldn't be any secrets, "You need to believe us because if you don't it could be the end of this world, you need to understand." As she spoke Willow joined hands with Tara and they reached out telepathically to everyone in the room and then opened their minds.

        Buffy could feel the outer edges of Willow and Tara's memories. She knew that the pair was totally vulnerable; she could take her revenge against them now. However there was a powerful curiosity, or just plain nosiness about someone else's secrets, that made her look and then she found the memories flooded over her.

        Giles was struggling to make sense of everything he was seeing, the hectic first day at the Magic Box, the day Joyce died, the morning Willow and Tara told him they were engaged, and the daughter they would one day have.



        When Willow and Tara could sustain the stress of the link no longer everyone felt the need to find a seat; which left several people slumped on the floor. Elias had been left out of the link and decided that the quiet gave him the chance to hammer things home to the locals, "You think things went bad because Buffy ran away, and she's been punishing herself ever since. Truth is it was them," he gestured towards Willow and Tara, "A million to one shot with a chunk of magic rock brought them together. Without that Willow didn't have the skill or the confidence to go find Buffy. When Willow lost herself in the magic there was no one who could pull her back." Elias walked over and pulled Buffy to her feet, "Its time to stop blaming yourself for the past and make sure this place has a future."

        Willow and Tara had listened to Elias with more than a little embarrassment. Willow managed to put it aside long enough to support his final comment, "We can't fix everything with a click of the fingers but we can give it chance if we work together and stick with the plan."

        Giles looked confused, "You mean the binding spell? You seriously think it could work?"

        Willow nodded positively, "I do, but we're going to need more than just a spell, and that will take all of us working together."

        Buffy looked at Willow and then at Elias, she understood now why he had come here; who he had come for, "Alright lets go and save the world."

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Reality Check 15: The Road Not Taken Pt5

Postby Sheridan » Fri May 30, 2003 5:34 pm

13. "That Old Gang Of Mine”




The bar was the worst dive in Sunnydale, which given the competition was quite an achievement. A mere mortal walking normally had a life expectancy measured in minutes. The patrons though knew Xander Harris. More precisely they knew he had connections that would feel compelled to punish anyone who harmed him.

        Xander was oblivious to all of that; he simply wanted a drink and no company. He was disappointed in that latter objective as someone slid into the seat on either side of him. The guy on his right was a stranger but the woman on his right he knew all too well, or at least he used to.

        "What are you doing here Buffy?" Xander asked wearily. Some of the other bar patrons were clearly wondering the same thing and were moving closer. When Buffy gave them a hard look and Elias pulled back the jacket to reveal the holstered flame gun they suddenly decided to forgo their curiosity.

        "Came to talk." Buffy remarked.

        Xander shook his head, "Can't think what we have to talk about. I mean unless you want to tell me again what a loser I am, how I let Willow down."

        Buffy looked pained, "I was mad, at myself more than you."

        "It's a little too late for apologies." Xander replied bluntly and made to get up.

        Elias placed a restraining hand on Xander's shoulder, "You should listen to the lady."

        Xander tried to shrug the hand off and found he couldn't, "Whose the muscle?"

        "A friend from out of town," Buffy explained vaguely truthfully, "he's helping to put a stop to this mess."

        "If you mean stopping Willow you're wasting your time. She's two steps ahead of you and she always will be."

        "Actually her inside source is dust," Elias commented, "and as you can see Buffy's gotten some reinforcements."

        Xander was still far from enthused, "And that's supposed to make a difference?"

        "Yes." Buffy stated firmly, "the difference we can put a stop to this disaster before it gets any worse. And it will get worse, you know that."

        After all that had passed between them Xander wasn't about to simply concede the point, "I think I'm just going to go home."

        "That's a good plan. Why don't I just make sure you get there safely?" Elias smiled as he spoke but it stopped at the mouth. His eyes were cold and made it clear that saying no was not an option. Xander simply slid off the stool and headed for the door with Elias in tow.

        Buffy watched them go. She knew Willow was right; they had to get all the bystanders out of the way; she just hoped that after they saved the world they could actually fix her little corner of it.



        In the decision process about who was going to round each of alternate Willow's gang Willow and Tara had been quite adamant about taking responsibility for Warren. Mears was clearly as big a weasel in this world as in their own and there was still resentment towards him that neither of them could shake. The experience of the battle in the Initiative had been scarier than either of them liked to admit and the responsibility for the near disaster rested squarely at the feet of Warren Mears; if this one hadn't done that it was only because he hadn't had the chance.

        Warren had little interest in leaving his corner of the lair. It wasn't as if he had any friends out there that he wanted to see and he wasn't as certain as his boss that they were safe from Summers and her crew. Nonetheless there things Warren would rather do out of the gaze of Willow Rosenberg.

        The park was quiet this time of night and there certainly weren't any police around; they were all safely tucked up in their HQ where they could avoid the running battles amongst the demons. Patterson was sat on a bench keeping a firm grip on his sidearm. He had spent a lot of time in the backwoods of America but some of the noises he was hearing didn't fit in with any of the animals he knew.

        Warren walked over to the militiaman making as much noise as possible; startling Patterson wasn't a good idea, "You're late." Patterson growled.

        Warren knew he wasn't but decided not to make an issue of it, "I got here when I could, and I brought what you wanted, assuming you still want it."

        "Would I be sat here if I wasn't?" Patterson buried his nervousness under aggression.

        Warren sat beside him and powered up the laptop he had brought with him, "This is just a sample so don't think you can gip me out of my money."

        Patterson looked at the screen and saw the details, reports, outlines of the behavioural modification chips; material with the potential to prove everything they had ever said about Feds was true.

        Warren snapped the laptop shut, "Like I say just a sample; you get the whole thing when I get my money."

        "Weasel!" The voice appeared out of thin air.

        Warren knew it all too well and came to the conclusion that he was a dead man walking, "Look this was just..."

        Willow and Tara dropped the glamour and appeared. Patterson practically fell off the bench, "Just can't keep away from him can you?" Willow commented to his complete consternation. She gestured with her hand and he was yanked to his feet, "Just get while the going is good."

        The militiaman didn't hesitate; he 'got' as fast as he humanly could. Warren looked after him longingly but rapidly refocused his attention as the couple strode towards him. More specifically he focused on Willow. Something wasn't right, her hair was its old colour and she looked, well, normal. Her expression however was exactly what he expected; angry, "It doesn't matter what universe your in you're still a lowlife." Willow's comment was directed more to the blonde beside her than him.

        "You were right," Tara conceded, "I'll pay up when we get home."

        Warren wasn't following the conversation and felt he was slowly drowning, "Look I just wanted to make some extra cash it wouldn't have hurt your plans."

        Willow fixed him with a steely gaze, "You have no idea what my plans are," she gestured again and the laptop flew into her hands. "You better get out of my sight, go," she hesitated and looked at Tara, "how about north this time?"

        Tara smiled, "North sounds good."

        "Go north, and I mean until you see polar bears."

        Warren wasn't quite sure which direction was north but he decided not to ask, he simply ran off into the night.

        Tara looked after him and shook her head, "You know I think he runs faster than our version."



        The realisation that Dawn had been talking to her for several minutes finally penetrated the alternate Tara's awareness, "Sorry what were you saying?"

        Dawn looked exasperated, "I was asking if you were ready, and I'm guessing the answer is no," she smiled to take the edge off her words.

        "Sorry." Tara mumbled.

        Guess I'll have to be nosey, Dawn decided when it became clear Tara wasn't going to explain what was distracting her, "You've been out of it since the Willow and Tara 'shared' back at the apartment. Did it upset you?"

        "Not upset, no." Tara struggled to put a name to the sensation, "It's like I feel good and bad at the same time."

        "Well all I can say to that is, huh?" Dawn responded.

        "I didn't just see everything that had happened to that other Tara I felt it. I know what it was like falling in love with Willow, how it felt when she proposed, the feeling of, holding her at night."

        "Just holding?" Dawn couldn't resist the mischievous remark.

        Tara blushed and rushed on, "It all makes me feel good but then I remember that none of it's mine, it's not my life."

        Dawn could hear the sadness creeping in as Tara spoke, "Yeah but on the positive side it proves that there's no such thing as destiny, it's all just one decision at a time making up a life." Wow was that really me saying that? When she first got here Dawn had been terrified. She wasn't exactly sure when it had happened but one day she realised the fear was gone, she was too busy to be scared. Dawn had purpose and it felt good.

        Tara had mulled over what Dawn said and found it made sense, the trick would be to find the right decision.

        The street they were watching had been deserted for the last twenty minutes. Now a solitary figure plodded along it. The Anya Dawn knew never slouched along like that; she would be too afraid of ruining the look of her clothes for that and she wouldn't want anyone seeing her at less than her best.

        Tara turned to Dawn, "What exactly is the plan here?"

        Dawn ignored the question and leapt from the shadows as Anya walked by. Before the former vengeance demon could react Dawn had twisted her arms around behind her back and secured them with a pair of handcuffs. "What the hell are you doing?" Anya demanded, which offered Dawn the opportunity to shove a gag in her mouth.

        Tara was horrified, "I thought we were going to talk to her; persuade her to co-operate? And where did you get the handcuffs?"

        "Found them when I was nosing around Spike's crypt and thought I should take them away," Dawn explained not really wanting to think about what the cuffs were for, "besides getting Anya to co-operate without large sums of money is nearly impossible."

        Anya's response was muffled but indignant. Dawn grabbed one of her arms and Tara had no choice but to take the other as they frog marched Anya away.



        When she established telepathic contact with Dawn Willow tried to sound stern but she couldn't keep the amusement out of her thoughts. The contact with Elias was a lot more sober. She was glad they had gone after Warren; Willow was sure she didn't want to see Xander like that.

        "She's alone." Willow said simply.

        "And you will be as well." Tara pointed out.

        "I have to be, if she feels out numbered she could just run."

        Tara knew Willow was right, that didn't mean she was going to admit it, "Five minutes and then I'm coming in."

        Willow kissed her, "I'm counting on it baby." She turned, squared her shoulders and walked towards the front door of the Palace.



14. "Once More With Feeling”




The corner of the lair that had been set aside as Willow's own private space was Spartan; originally it had held a lot of personal mementos and the sybaritic touches she felt she had earned with all her efforts. Bit by bit she had thrown them away or simply shoved them into a cupboard. They had all become meaningless to her; there was no comfort or satisfaction in any of it.

        The wards around the Palace were supposed to keep out any stray demons and warn of any magical attacks. They were tied directly to Willow and when they picked up something she felt a subtle tingling. This time it was like a giant electric shock that practically threw her out of her seat; something had shredded the wards. Storming out into the corridors of the lair Willow discovered she was alone; that was unusual but not crucial. Her minions could hardly be counted on in a crisis.

        The trap door practically came off its hinges as Willow threw it open and marched into the darkened night club, "Light!" she commanded and even the neon signs behind the bar came on. Despite every light in the place being on the Palace was still dimly lit and it took a few seconds to realise there was someone sat in a corner booth

        "I prefer this," the figure commented, "Incante!" A ball of light rose into the air and the two Willow's stared into each other's eyes.

       

        Willow decided that the witch light did nothing for her alternate, the stark relief simply emphasised how pale and drawn she was, definitely not a good look for me.       

        The alternate looked Willow up and down before commenting, "If this is Buffy's big plan its sort of lame; you’re not even a very good impersonation."

        "It's not," Willow interrupted, "if it was Spike would have told you about it wouldn't he?"

        The alternate took that in her stride, "I assume he's dusted then? Shame I was looking forward to doing that myself. So who exactly are you?"

        "I didn't think we looked that different. I'm Willow Rosenberg." Willow explained reasonably.

        "There is only one me and I'm it." The alternate replied harshly.

        Willow shook her head; "Actually there are probably an infinite number of Willows. Did you ever meet the vampire version? Nasty."

        The alternate was aware of the possibility of alternate realities, Amy had been quite insistent that she had come from somewhere else. The differences between the pair weren't so great that the alternate could help being intrigued by the concept, she just wasn't going to let it distract her, "Still doesn't explain what you're doing here."

        "Came looking someone we lost and things sort of escalated." Willow kept it as simple as possible; she wasn't in the mood to go over the whole thing again.

        "Still doesn't answer my question." The alternate's manner made it clear she expected an answer now.

        Willow wasn't intimidated but decided to answer anyway, "I'm here to save the world, which includes you," she rose from her seat and walked onto the dance floor. Willow had the feeling she was going to need room to work.

"I'm not the one who needs saving." The alternate announced and serpentine streaks of dark energy writhed through the air towards Willow.

        They smeared out against in invisible wall several feet from their target, "Man I really can't handle power can I?" Willow wondered rhetorically, "Get a little juice and I want to take over the world and fry my friends."

        "I'm trying to save them and the ingrates turned on me!" The alternate unleashed a volley of magic that Willow deflected and dodged.

        The alternate was beginning to sound very like herself when she had absorbed the Fire, "Right, everyone else is wrong and you're right." Willow was concentrating on protecting herself, just letting the alternate bleed off her energy. The only problem was that as the alternate got madder she seemed to get stronger.

        "I saved them from the mayor, I stopped the Initiative unleashing their hybrids and all I get is bitching and whining!" A bolt of lightning shattered a table, "I gave everything and they abandoned me!"

        "And it's killing you." Tara announced as she materialised.

        The alternate whirled round to confront her, and then hesitated without being sure why. Tara pressed on, "How can you save the world when you hate it so much?"

        The alternate Willow didn't have a good answer so she settled for making the ground open up below Tara's feet. Willow reacted quickly and levitated her; dropping Tara a few feet closer to her own position. She tried to draw the alternate's attentions away from Tara, "She's right, there isn't anything or anyone in this world you care about, why wouldn't you destroy it?"

        “If it will shut you up maybe I will!” The alternate snarled and searingly bright lightning crashed down on Willow. She could feel the shield beginning to buckle around her and was only saved when Tara spotted a pile of coasters lying on the bar and commanded them to fly towards the alternate. They simply flashed past the alternate's eyes harmlessly but they did break her concentration and the lightning vanished.

        Irritated the alternate Willow sent a table skidding towards Tara; she simply moved another one and the two collided noisily. Tara looked past the alternate to her Willow; we're nearly there baby.

        Willow nodded, “Why don't you just give it up? Whether everyone is scared of the demons or scared of you they'll still be scared. You aren't making anything better.”

        “SHUT UP!!!” The alternate shrieked and a row of bottles behind the bar shattered. The fragments formed a razor sharp cloud that raced towards Willow. Willow knew there was no way to stop the attack so she simply decided not to be there. The glass slammed into the wall as Willow teleported out.

        Tara felt a rush of air as Willow appeared beside her, “Now?” Willow asked.

        “Now.” Tara confirmed. The pair joined hands and began the binding spell.

        Alternate Willow was only thrown for a moment before she turned to attack the pair. The problem was she had thrown every ounce of energy she had left into that last attack against Willow, she could feel her hands trembling as the reaction to her exertion set in. She decided to deal with the pair the old fashioned way and grabbed an abandoned bottle from a table. She started to advance on Willow and Tara only to find that her feet wouldn't move. As the pair chanted the paralysis spread up her body until she was completely motionless.

        Willow was trying to stay focused on the chant but the sight of the magic flowing around her other self was unnerving. The threads of power wove through one another; forming a sort of lattice, or a cage, Willow realised. When the last two strands joined up the framework glowed brightly and then was gone.

       

        As the paralysis left her the alternate Willow found her legs wouldn't support her weight and the best she could manage was a controlled collapse on to the wooden floor. As Willow and Tara approached she gestured to repulse them telekinetically only to find that also wasn't working. “You took my magic,” she flung out the accusation as the only weapon she had left.

        “We didn't take anything,” Tara explained, “We simply bound your powers so you can't use them.

        “Great, why didn't you just kill me instead?” The alternate asked bitterly.

        Neither willow nor Tara could think of anything positive to say and were spared having to as the door of the nightclub crashed open. Dawn, Buffy, Elias and the alternate Tara were packed into the doorway all brandishing weapons. Willow figured they were probably easier to deal with, “it's all over,” she announced.

        Buffy eyed her dubiously, “As in…”

        “As in we bound her powers and she can't do anymore magic.” Tara spelt it out for the locals.

        As the concept sank in Buffy placed the ax she was carrying against a table and stepped towards the alternate Willow. Tara grabbed her arm, “Whatever you're thinking of doing this isn't the time, and you aren't the one who can help her now.”

        The alternate had ignored the appearance of the rest of the gang; she could live without seeing their smug expressions. On the other hand she realised that she had to look pretty pathetic sat in a heap on the floor so she decided to reclaim some dignity by getting to her feet. Unfortunately that proved more of a challenge than she had anticipated; she was still terribly weak from the effects of the binding spell. Before she had to contemplate the ultimate indignity of trying to crawl away a hand was thrust in front of her face. She looked up to see the blonde witch standing there. Then she realised it wasn't quite the same person; this one had much shorter hair. “Let me help you.” the girl offered.

        The alternate Willow was going to tell her what she could do with her offer but hesitated; there was something in the girl's eyes, a look of genuine concern. Willow took the offered hand and couldn’t help but notice how warm and smooth it was as she got to her feet, in fact even after she was standing she was reluctant to let it go, “Who are you?” she demanded sulkily.

        “I'm Tara, Tara Maclay.”

        The alternate Willow couldn't explain why but an odd little shiver ran down her spine as she heard those words.

Stood by the doorway Tara was watching the alternates closely; studying their auras. Willow could tell she was satisfied with what she saw by the huge grin that spread across her fiancée's face, “Do you think it will work? I mean the binding spell won't last forever and when it fails…”

        Tara shut her up by kissing her, “There's more than one kind of magic you know.”

        Willow smiled, “There certainly is.”



15. “Together Forever”




The gathering in the university grounds was a little thin. There was no sign of either the alternate Tara or Willow. Dawn had suggested they had several lost years to catch up on and Willow and Tara had agreed hopefully.

        Apart from Amy the rest of the other Willow's little gang had faded away, though Willow expected Warren was probably in Canada by now. Anya and Xander had simply ducked out. There had been some hopes that Xander might show up but according to Elias he was a long way from seeking reconciliation. Anya had naturally been livid about being bound and gagged and no one really expected to see her again.

        The remainder of Buffy's group had shown up. Giles and Cordelia both looked pretty happy; understandable since their world wasn't about to be destroyed after all.

        Buffy was also in attendance but she looked as though she wanted to be anywhere else but here. "I'll round up Dawn and Amy, maybe you should talk to her." Willow suggested to Elias. He nodded and squared his shoulders.

        "I know you're not thrilled about what I did and I want to apologize," Elias began, "if you tell me that he made you happy, that you loved him."

        Buffy stared at him for a long time before answering, "Whatever was happening didn't give you the right to do what you did."

        "Maybe the right comes from not wanting to see someone destroying themselves for one mistake, or maybe stopping a monster exploiting your pain did. Or maybe your right and nothing could justify it. That doesn't matter now, what matters is that you stop beating yourself up and start living."

        Buffy didn't answer that and Elias walked back to the others, "You did what you could." Tara offered sympathetically.

        "And I'll never know if it was enough." Elias commented darkly.

        Dawn decided to try and lift his mood, "But I know your going to make at least one Buffy very happy."

        "That's true," Willow added, "you pretty much have a blank cheque after this."

        The thought of his own Buffy did make Elias feel better. Seeing that Willow shuffled everyone into the pentacle and poured the potion carefully onto the ground; she really didn't want to be trapped here, it wasn't even a nice place to visit.



        The glade was tranquil as Willow materialised. She hastily looked around to see if the crazed girl had returned. There was no sign of her; in fact there was no sign of Elias, Dawn, or Amy. Tara was also frantically looking around, "We didn't leave them behind did we?"

        "No." Willow sounded more certain than she felt. Then another option occurred to her, "I think somebody may have sent them on ahead."

        The woman appeared from behind a line of trees, "I thought there might be some questions you wanted to ask us, and I didn't see the need for the others to be here."

        "You were right, Buffy doesn't like it when people use bad language around Dawn." Willow commented angrily.

        "You used us." Tara added, unusually sharply.

        Willow didn't wait for the woman to respond, "There is no way Dawn just wound up in that universe by chance."

        "No she didn't." The woman admitted unflinchingly.

        Willow was furious, "You put her in danger, you put me through the ringer again and you put Buffy through hell thinking she let Dawn down!"

        "We did not cause her to fall into the vortex," the woman replied vehemently, "once she did we had a certain amount of power over where she appeared."

        "And you knew we would come after her." Tara wasn't asking.

        "And we knew you wouldn't stand aside and let a world die." The woman reminded them.

        Willow wasn't going to let go of perfectly good anger that easily, "You could have asked us."

        The woman gave her a sad look, "No we couldn't. There are other powers we have to be wary of. The more we try to tip things one-way the more they will try to tip them in the other direction. Acting of your own free will denies them the excuse to interfere."

        Willow felt bemused; as far as she could tell the real power of the Circle lay in making you feel like dirt if you complained about being used as a patsy.

        Tara wasn't about to be deflected by the woman’s high-sounding rhetoric, "Even so I think you at least owe us a thank you."

        The woman smiled, "Now that I can do; come with me."

        The lovers looked at one another as the woman walked away. They could simply stand in the middle of the glade to make some sort of point but there was itching curiosity to see what the woman had in mind.

        She disappeared through one of the myriad gaps in the trees and Willow and Tara followed. The phrase 'breath taking' was somewhat overused; this time it was perfectly apt because Willow had to remind herself to breathe as she took in the sight.

        The trees had shifted from the usual spreading deciduous types into palm trees. They lined the inner edge of a curving bay with a golden sandy beach gently sloping to azure waters. "The Glade even has its own beach?" Willow asked awestruck.

        "Actually that's Hawaii, on your world. About two weeks after you set off to rescue Dawn." The woman explained.

        Tara was still taking the beach when she noticed a white latticework building set on it, "That's a wedding gazebo!"

        The woman smiled, "Of course. And it's yours if you want it."

        Willow's eyes went wide, "It's beautiful but we have so many arrangements still to make."

        "If you step on to the beach you will find that you don't." The woman contradicted her.

        Can we take this? Wouldn't be sort of indebted to them? Willow didn't want the woman to hear her anxieties and try and influence them

        Not if this is their way of saying 'thank you' then it just makes us even, and it is perfect. Tara responded.

        Willow couldn't disagree. She took Tara's hand and they stepped onto the sand.

       

        The beach had been empty when they were inspecting it from the Glade. The instant they stepped on to it a knot of people appeared around the gazebo. Willow almost fell on her face. She realised why when she looked down and saw that her sneakers had been replaced by a pair of high heels. Indeed her entire outfit had changed. She was wearing a dark green dress that only had one shoulder that was held together with a small clasp. Tara was wearing a shimmery silk dress that matched the colour of her eyes and flowed almost to the ground.

        Before they could comment on the change the pair were spotted by the group at the gazebo who raced towards them, "Where have you been?" Dawn demanded. She was wearing her best dress, as were Buffy and Anya.

        "We haven't been anywhere really, we sort of skipped a week or two." Willow knew that wasn't much of an explanation but she couldn't think of anything better.

        "How did you all get here?" Tara asked.

        Buffy stepped forward, "A couple of days after Elias and Dawn got back a package just appeared in the living room with tickets and directions and a note saying you would be here."

        Willow wondered if the Circle had written that note before or after they agreed to the offer. That involved a certain amount of wondering about causality that Willow wasn't going to get a headache trying to sort out, "Well I guess the Circle really did sort out all the details."

        "I thought it might be some sort of trap, " Buffy added, "but I figured if I'm going to fight evil I might as well do it in Hawaii."

        The way Buffy smiled and teased them told Tara all she wanted to know about how the Slayer was doing. Add in the broad grin on Elias' face and Tara was certain that things had worked out for the best.

        The only stranger in the group was a Polynesian woman clad in a formal outfit, "You would be Miss Rosenberg and Miss Maclay?"

        "I'm Rosenberg." Willow confirmed.

        "My name is Kara and I'll be conducting the ceremony," she explained, "Before we begin I want to be clear that regardless of whatever legal limits are place on it by state and federal law this will be a marriage ceremony; with all the commitments that implies. Are you prepared for that?"

        The pair nodded, "We wouldn't want it any other way." Tara stated firmly.

        Kara smiled, "Our mutual acquaintances assured me of that but it doesn't hurt to check. If you're ready we can begin."

        "Oh we are so ready." Willow assured her enthusiastically as the couple followed Kara towards the gazebo.



        With no time to write vows Willow and Tara fell back on the traditional 'till death us do part', which was fine as it summed up their feelings and intentions perfectly. There was a hotel around the curve of the beach where a reception had been set up and Willow and Tara found that 'someone' had reserved the honeymoon suite for the next week. Willow couldn't resist checking and found the room had been reserved for several months in advance. She had wondered about that whole balance of power thing the Circle seemed so concerned about; until Tara pointed out that on the world saving scale manipulating a hotel reservation was small potatoes.

        The newly weds stayed at the reception for the minimum decent period before heading for their room. Naturally the Summers sisters tried to get a rise out of them by thwarting their efforts to escape. In the end they decided they had been cruel enough and let Willow and Tara retreat to their room.

        "This is a really great..." Willow's comments about the suite were cut short as Tara pressed her mouth against Willow; she wasn't in the mood for talking. The clasp that held Willow's dress together undid easily and the gown floated to the floor leaving Willow wearing heels and a smile; and the heels didn't stay on long.

        "This is kind of uneven." Willow murmured since Tara was still fully dressed. She found working the zip on Tara's dress difficult since Tara's hands were exploring some very distracting places. Willow finally gave up and managed to summon a small spell that did the work for her.

        If the bed hadn't been so luxuriously large they would probably have missed it all together as they stumbled in its general direction. Landing on the bottom edge they rolled over on the silky covers, becoming even more entangled as they did so.

        "So this is married sex." Willow breathed.

        "Can't think what people complain about." Tara managed to reply between licking and biting Willow's nipples.

        "Can't imagine." Willow replied lazily as she let her fingers trace down Tara's spine and then dig into her butt. That made Tara grind her hips against Willow's in a way that left coherent speech impossible; unless you could understand the language of groaning and panting that passed between them. Willow broke loose from Tara' grasp and swung round to place her head between Tara's thighs. Tara pulled Willow's sex to her face and after that all existed was a world of pure pleasure.



        The shockwave spread out from somewhere outside Seattle a little before dawn on the pacific coast. Since it was composed of magical energy the vast majority of the earths inhabitants it passed over were blissfully ignorant of its existence; there were of course exceptions.

        As the wave passed through LA a green skinned demon missed a note and spoiled an other wise perfect rendition of 'My Way'.

        When it swept through Sunnydale the ruins of the high school tumbled to the ground as a shudder ran through the dark depths of the Hellmouth.

        It passed swiftly over the Atlantic and across the British Isles. In the basement of the building occupied by the Watchers council a group of auguries sensed it and rushed off to inform their masters.

        Only a little later it passed over the islands of Hawaii...



        Tara knew she was dreaming because she had been here before; standing atop the Eiffel Tower and looking out over her vision of Paris. There was someone else there and Tara wasn't surprised to see it was LJ, "Are you actually here?"

        LJ smiled, "This is strictly a dream, I'm not here," she squeezed Tara's shoulder to emphasise the words. Tara was confused as LJ turned and walked away, "I'll see you soon mom."

        Sitting bolt upright in bed Tara felt a sudden sense of urgency, that there was something she needed to be doing. The feeling passed and try as she might Tara couldn't remember what she had been dreaming about. She lay back down and slid her arms around Willow, if it was important it would come to her soon enough.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Sheridan
 


Update

Postby evilmookow » Fri May 30, 2003 6:06 pm

Update! Yay for us!

evilmookow
 


Re: Reality Check 15: The Road Not Taken Pt5

Postby onyxsundrops » Fri May 30, 2003 10:26 pm

:applause Okay, now don't throw stones or anything, but I'm kinda glad they brought Dawn back! Oh, and the young woman that was running through the field..that wouldn't happen to be a certain potential, would it?:clap Great update...long but well worth it! :grin

Yvonne:peace

onyxsundrops
 

PreviousNext

Return to Board index

Return to Different Colored Pens

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests


Powered by phpBB The phpBB Group © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007
Style based on a Cosa Nostra Design