TITLE: Love Hangover
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T and Buffy
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters.
SUMMARY: Tara finds out about the accident that occurred during 'WRECKED'--goes over the Summers house and talks w/buffy.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make sense. Also, pretty angsty.
Five minutes.
It felt like five years. That’s how long it took Tara to run over to Buffy’s house after hearing about the accident. She was winded by the time she reached the door and took a moment longer to collect herself before she rang the bell. She wouldn’t have known about it if she had never called to see if Dawn wanted to go for lunch.
“Buffy, hey, it’s Tara. Is Dawn there?” She had asked when she called.
“Tara, yeah she is but she’s sleeping.”
“Sleeping? It’s two o’clock. Did she have too much sugar last night and stay up late watching bad television again?” Tara asked.
“No, actually. I’m glad you called Tara. Something happened last night. Tara, Willow and Dawn were in a car accident. Willow’s ok, a little shaken, but she’s ok. Dawns arm is hurt though. The doctors..they gave her something to help with the pain and she’s been in and out of it all day.”
There was no response from the other end. Tara sat there, silent and shocked.
“Tara?”
“Buffy, c-can I come over?” Her voice began to quiver.
“Sure, I’ll be here.”
Tara hung up the phone and ran out the door.
Buffy answered the door and Tara fell into her arms, embracing her tightly. Buffy, slightly taken aback but not surprised, held her there for a moment before Tara slowly pulled away.
Tara’s eyes were brimming with tears and she turned away before Buffy could say anything. Instead, she moved and closed the door behind her friend.
“Hey,” Buffys voice was soft as she spoke, “want to come into the kitchen and have some tea? Giles left so many boxes of English Breakfast and Earl Grey that I just don’t know what to do with them.”
Tara just nodded and followed Buffy through her, until recently, second home. When they entered the kitchen Tara instinctively went to the cabinets and retrieved two mugs as Buffy filled the silver teapot on the stove. As Tara was reaching for a canister that housed the teabags, Buffy stopped her.
“Tara, sit. Please. Let me do this for you, ok?”
Again, Tara only nodded and walked over to the table. She sat there and stared at the kitchen door.
“She’s sleeping, too. Willow. I guess that’s who you’re expecting to walk through the door.”
Tara shifted her focus from the door to Buffy, “Yeah. Guess it’s pretty obvious. W-wha,” she stopped herself as her voice broke and a tear ran down her face. “Buffy, w-what h-happened?” She forced the question to come.
Buffy recounted what she knew as she poured the steaming water into the mugs. She told her about Rack, Amy’s involvement, and the accident. She then told Tara about the conversation she had with Willow the night before. Tara’s face was further soaked as she just bit her lower lip listening to all of it. When Buffy was done, Tara just shook her head.
“I-I don’t know what to say. I don’t know whether I’m more mad at Willow right now or scared for her. I-I.. I can’t believe this. A magicks dealer? Her eyes were shooting sparks?” Tara couldn’t believe all that she had heard. She buried her face in her hands and started crying again.
Buffy sat there, saying nothing. She knew better than that right now.
Tara picked a napkin off of the table and wiped her eyes. She then turned to Buffy, ”Did you know about this?”
“About Rack? No, never heard about him before last night.”
“No, not Rack. Did you know about what she was delving into? Did you know why I left her, Buffy?”
“No, I didn’t. I mean I did know why you left, but I didn’t know how bad it was. I mean, I didn’t think she used some sage and a few chicken bones to bring me back. But, this, this was something else, Tara.”
Tara shook her head again, ”You did, though. You knew. I mean, if you knew why I left, then you knew what was going on," Tara paused for a moment. "Xander knew it,too, and Giles. Only they were the only ones who said anything to her before I did. She could have..” Tara trailed off. “S-she could have died last night,Buffy. She could have killed Dawn.”
“I know. She knows it,too, Tara.”
“What is it going to take? I take myself away from her. I take away my heart and my body and it’s still not enough for her.”
“I don’t know. She said last night that there wasn’t going to be anymore magic. She said..”
“She said it before, Buffy. Before I left, she said she would go one week without magic and she didn’t even go a day. She goes and casts that spell that took away all of our memories. If it wasn’t for Xander, you could still be Joan the Vampire Slayer. You think this is going to change her?”
“I don’t know, Tara. Part of me hopes that she can’t go any further than this. That last night was the last of it.” Buffy said, almost to herself.
“I can’t believe she did this, Buffy. I thought I knew her, you know? I-I don’t even know her right now. The Willow I fell in love with would never have messed with our memories, let alone almost get herself and Dawn killed. I,” Tara stopped herself again.
“Maybe you should talk to her Tara. She should be up soon. You can hang out here until then.”
“No, I should get back. I just kind of ran out,” Tara said as she stood up, walked over to the sink and put her empty mug into it. “Besides, I don’t think I could look at her right now. I’m too angry. I’m too upset. I’m a little too everything right now.”
“I know, I’m sorry.”
“I have to go. Tell Dawn to call me when she’s up to it, okay? Tell her I owe her a gigantic shake of her choice after this. Tell her I love her, okay?”
“I will.”
“Thank you, Buffy for letting me know. I’ll probably come by this week and pick up the rest of my things,” Tara leaned in and hugged Buffy goodbye.
“Do you want me to walk you out?”
“No, thanks. I think I’ve got it,” Tara walked out the kitchen door and down the hallway to the front door.
As she reached for the knob, she heard a voice behind her, “Tara?” It was Willow. She didn’t even have to turn around to know.
“Tara, baby?” Willows voice showed that she had been crying.
Tara started to turn around as she stopped herself. She paused for a moment, as if thinking of something, then turned back and let her out of the Summers home. Outside, she leaned against the banister and broke down in tears again. One the other side of the door, up the stairs, Willow did the same.
------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."
TITLE: Love Hangover
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T-centric
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters.
SUMMARY: More post 'WRECKED' stuff.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make sense. Also, pretty angsty
Buffy walked out of the kitchen when she heard Willows sobbing. She looked up the stairs and saw her friend collapsed on the floor, crying uncontrollably.
“She left. She didn’t even look at me. She left me. She’s gone. She’s gone,” Willow just said to herself over and over again.
Buffy ascended the stairs and went to Wilows side. She knelt down and pulled her Willows hands away from her face. Soaked with tears that she didn’t move to wipe away, Willow looked up at Buffy, “I really screwed up this time, Buffy.”
“She just needs some time, Will. She’s upset right now. She’s scared for you. She could have lost you in the biggest sense of the word, Will.”
Willow started crying again. “I need her so much, Buffy. She’s my everything.”
“I know, sweetie, I know. She needs you, too. You’ll be ok, I swear.” Buffy stood up and held her hand out to Willow. Willow took it and let her friend pull her up to her feet.
“You look like hell,” Buffy said, trying to lighten the moment.
“I feel like it,” Willow said, forcing a half smile. “I need to wash up. I need to do something. Is Dawn here?”
Buffy nodded, “Yeah, but she’s still sleeping. She’s been up once or twice, but she’s just kind of out of it. The doctor said that she’ll be like that for about two or three days. The wonders of modern medicine, huh?”
“Buffy, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll make this up to you, I swear and Dawn.”
“Yeah, well, she’s the one you have to worry about right now.”
“I know. God and Xander is never going to speak to me again.”
“Yeah, pretty much you’ve got a lot of groveling until you’re in their good graces again. But, I’m sure it’ll be ok. Like Tara, they’re just going to need some time.”
Willow put her head down and and muttered in agreement. She gave Buffy a quick hug and walked back into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Tara closed her door and collapsed on her bed. From under her pillow, she pulled out a small stuffed animal that she had taken from her and Willows room. She held it close to her and searched for Willows scent on it. When the familiar lilac smell hit her, she squeezed it tighter and threw it against the wall.
‘Why Willow, why?’ she thought to herself. Tara’s anger began to turn inward at herself. ‘Why did I defend you so many times? Why did I let you go on for so long?’
Tara began to think about the first time they met, in the Wiccan group at school. How there relationship had started out so innocently. How Willow had thought Tara was the more powerful one of the two.
She picked up a picture of the two of them from her box of unpacked things. “You never would have been this powerful if you hadn’t met me—if we hadn’t spent so much time doing spells together,” she spoke to the framed image.
Tara opened her top dresser drawer and moved some things to the side. She put the picture to her lips and gave a light kiss to Willows image and put it in the drawer. She replaced the items and closed the drawer.
Willow walked up to the door of the magic shop, but paused before walking in. ‘Take nothing. Read nothing.’ She said to herself like a mantra. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Anya was there, but aside from her, the shop was empty.
Anya looked up from a magazine and brought her eyes back down to the paper.
‘Great, just what I need,’ Willow thought to herself.
She walked over to the table they researched at so many times and put down her bag. Then she removed her jacket and hung it from the back of a chair. Still, Anya said nothing to her. Willow sat down and pulled a book from her bag and started reading.
“Your friend, the rat, was in. I told her to go away. Can you imagine, me turning away a sale? Buffy said I shouldn’t let her in here. She told me what the two of you were doing. Told me about Amy taking those ingredients from your room,” Anya finally spoke to her.
“She took from my room?”
“Yeah, Buffy caught her last night. Didn’t you know? Doesn’t surprise me, though. Those kind of people will do anything to work a spell.”
Willow looked at Anya in disbelief. Amy had tried to take things from her room? She didn’t understand.
“Why would she do that?” Willow asked and then said, “And what do you mean by ‘those kind of people’?”
“Why? You think because you’re her friend that means something? She’s got all of those years of pent up magic inside her. Then she goes and gets caught up with someone like that guy? You think I haven’t seen someone like him before? Nasty little men, too. I had to have one disemboweled when I was a demon. His lover had caught him messing around with one of his little tricks. He almost got the better of me, though. It’s like messing with hell itself. What were you thinking? If you were thinking at all, that is.”
“Anya, you are not one to be getting on my case. I messed up one night, you caused suffering and death for over a thousand years,” Willow said, her voice raising in anger.
“Yeah, true,” Anya paused, “but, this wasn’t just once Willow. What about the last spell you did? I was making out with Giles because of you.”
Willows jaw dropped in surprise.
“If that wasn’t a lifetime full of therapy, I don’t know what is. And, besides, I heard about the ‘forget’ spell you worked on Tara. And when you went after Glory, using the darkest of magicks? You don’t know what you could have done to yourself or to the rest of us. You’re like one of those loose weapons. You..”
“Cannons,” Willow said, correcting her.
“Yes, you’re a loose cannon. You’ve hurt everyone with your magic. Dawn is hurt, Buffy was sucked out of heaven, Xander is making up his own swear words because he’s so upset and Tara, she’s probably left you for,” Willow cut her off right there.
“Don’t you dare talk about me and Tara. You know nothing about us. You’re too wrapped up in yourself to know that anyone else exists unless they come in waving a credit card in your face.” Willow quickly snapped up her stuff and started to walk out.
“You’re throwing everything away, Willow. Everything.” Anya called to her as she walked out.
------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."
TITLE: Love Hangover--pt.3
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T-centric--with some other characters.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters.
SUMMARY: More post 'WRECKED' stuff.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make
sense. Also, pretty angsty
Tara wasn't too surprised when she answered the phone and heard Xander's voice on the other end.
"Tara, can you come over the apartment? I kind of want to talk to you about things. And we've got pizza, which would take away the feeling of all business, no… Well, it's actually all business. But, there's still pizza," he tried to lighten the moment.
Her head felt funny, kind of heavy. She was tired of talking about things, about thinking about things. But, at the same time, she couldn't just let it all go. Talking and thinking about it kept Willow in her life. For as masochistic as it was, it was all that she had.
She told Xander that she would be over soon and then placed the receiver back into its cradle. She took one long breath and let it out. She wished that Giles had been around. Somehow, she felt like he would be the only one to offer up some kind of insight to getting across to Willow. She knew that Xander would be spending the next hour or so getting angry about Willow and everything that was going on and she had enough of her own to deal with.
'Maybe I'll call him later,' she thought to herself as she pulled on her sweater and her bag.
As Tara made her way over to Xander and Anya's, she felt herself being overly sensitive to her environment. Living in Sunnydale for just over two years made her that way, though. Would she run into a Kremale demon again, like she did last week? Would Buffy just happen to be passing in the area again and help her? Or, worse, would she run into Willow and not know what to say?
No, instead her close encounter would be with Spike. She saw him a few feet away, smoking his ever-present cigarette, and slowly walking up the street.
She quickened her step and caught up with him. Though she didn't know him as well as she felt she had known the others, she didn't feel like being alone at that moment.
"Uh, Sp-Spike, hi."
He turned to see who was speaking to him. She saw him as he unclenched his fist when he recognized her and she let out a small breath.
" 'ello, lass," he said as they fell into step along side each other. "What's got you out on a night like tonight?"
"I'm on my way over to Xanders."
"Ah, to have a chat about your pet, huh? Nasty little thing she's got herself into," he said, taking another drag off the cigarette.
"What do you know about it, Spike? I mean, B-Buffy said you knew about this guy, Rack. What, what has Willow gotten into?"
"Not to oversimplify it, love, but she's got herself into more darkness then a bottomless pit. You see, once a dealer gets into you-and that's what they do too, they literally get inside you, in all your nooks and crannies and blood. But, once they get in and you get a taste of that rush, of that euphoria, it's hard to go back. And the power, alone," he pauses for another drag, "makes some of the stuff that Willows been able to conjure look like a parlor trick."
"But, she can get it out of herself, right? I mean, it's not like she was doing it for that long."
"Don't need to be doing it long. Just need that little taste and it becomes the needle and the damage done. It depends on how much he gave to her. Doesn't help that she had a predilection to the darker stuff in the first place. What kills me about it, is how she so easily put the lil' bit in trouble. Doesn't she realize that Buffy's been through enough," He paused at this and seemed to think for himself for a moment.
They both walked in silence for another block, wrapped up in their own thoughts.
"Look," Spike started again,"I can't tell you that your girl is gonna be alright. I can't tell you much above what you already know. She's gonna get herself killed if she doesn't cut herself off and, chances are, she won't just take herself if that happens. Nobody likes to admit that someone they care about is hurting an awful lot, pet. And, it's pretty unheard of to hear me say it, but I know how much it kills you to be standing on the side, just watching it all go down. But, love, sometimes you gotta let 'em taste the flames before you can even get to 'em."
Tara just looked at Spike right then. The most she had heard him talk about something that didn't involve maiming or blood was when someone had made a reference to Timmy the Doll and "Passions."
When they reached the corner up from Xanders apartment, Tara turned toward Spike, "I've got it from here, thanks." The vampire turned his head and looked down her path.
"Right. Ok. Looks fine. Umm, tell Xander," he trailed off. "Hell, like I would tell Xander anything else then the buggar off."
Spike started walking off on his way, when Tara reached out and grabbed his arm. He turned to her quickly, with a look of surprise on his face.
"Thank you, Spike," she said as she met his eyes, trying to convey the truthfulness of her statement. She saw his face soften for a moment as he lowered his head, avoiding her eyes.
"Yeah, well, you and Miss Red took good care of the lil' bit while Buffy was gone. And, aside from me hittin' you that one time, you've always been more than civil to me."
"Well, thank you," she said again.
"Just don't be telling no one alright? I've got to keep what little shred of dignity a scrambled vamp is allowed these days," He looked up at her and gave a sheepish smile that she returned. He turned away from her and started down the street, pulling another cigarette from it's pack.
Tara turned and made her way down the street, Spikes voice echoing in her head.
___________________
------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."
TITLE: Love Hangover--pt.4
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T-centric--with some other characters.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters. Nor do i own the end lyrics which come from Radiohead.
SUMMARY: More post 'WRECKED' stuff.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make
sense. Also, pretty angsty
Willow sat on her queen sized bed. She didn’t know what to do with herself. She wanted to talk to someone, but Buffy was out and Dawn wasn’t talking to her, which didn’t surprise her at all. But, still, it stung to see the anger in the young girls eyes. After her run in at the Magic Shop with Anya, she knew that it was best to stay away from her and Xander. Giles was all the way across the Atlantic and she knew that he would have just gone ballistic on her, anyway. Tara and Amy were the only ones left.
She wanted to call Amy, but she knew what that would bring. The second she got around her, Amy would want to do magic and she just couldn’t. She wouldn’t. And, if what Anya had said was true, then she didn’t feel very trusting of the other witch right now. There had been a message on the machine from Amy earlier, asking her if she wanted to hang out. Willow could hear the anxiety and shakiness to Amy’s voice. It just wouldn’t be good right now. Not now.
Tara was another story. She wouldn’t even talk to Willow right now. Buffy said that Tara loved her and was worried. If she loved her so much, then why was she doing this to her? Why wouldn’t she even turn around to look at her? Willow would have even wanted Tara to yell at her, scream until her face was red, something. Anything but this silence.
Thinking about Tara tore Willow apart. The nausea from last night was waning and was being replaced by guilt and the knowledge that what Tara had said was right. That she was being reckless and careless. If she hadn’t been so, then Dawn would still be talking to her, Xander wouldn’t be mad and Tara would be there to comfort her.
Willow wished she had never deratted Amy. At least then she would have had someone or, rather, something to talk to right now. She just had her empty room and oversized bed now. This isolation was killing her.
Willow stood up from the bed and moved over to her dresser. On top lied a crystal ball that Tara had given to her on their anniversary. She picked it up and sat down on the bed with it. She pulled a book out from the night stand and found the page she needed. She hovered her hand about the crystal and repeated:
Daughter Thalia
Bringer of sight,
Show me my hearts love
Bring mine eyes to her
The globe began to glow after a few moments and a haze drifted up to Willow’s eye level. Suddenly, like a projection on a screen, the images of Tara, Xander and Anya started to take form. Willow couldn’t hear what was being said, but she could see that Xander was visibly upset. Tara, to Willows eyes, looked like she had been crying. The image struck hard at Willows heart. Anya went about clearing off plates and an empty pizza box. As she watched the scene unfold, she saw Tara stop mid-sentence and turn around. The blondes eyes met Willows and she held them there for a moment. Willow saw Xander ask what was wrong and Tara turned back to them, shaking her head. Willow watched for ten minutes, then she saw Tara get up from the table and hug the other two good bye. Again, Tara turned around and stopped. Willow put out her hand to touch Tara’s face and, when she did so, the images disappeared. The spell was broken and Tara was gone, once again.
Something was there. Tara felt it. Willow. ‘God, she can’t stay away from it for one moment, can she?’ she thought to herself.
Tara reached her dorm room and walked in. Silence. She had been use to it for so long before Willow came into her life. Then chaos and random demon encounters ensued. She kind of liked it, though. Knowing Buffy and the Scoobies put some bit of excitement into her life. She would have done anything to be hanging out with the group again, have it be like it was just a few days ago. Then everything happened all at once. Not all at once, though and she knew it. She had seen it coming for so long. Still, she wished things had been different. If she didn’t have such a sense of Wiccan morals, she would have casted a ‘thy will be done’ spell, but she had heard they never worked out the way you planned. So, instead, she took the silence and let it slowly become familiar to her once more.
Dawn had gone to bed again and Buffy was still not home. Willow turned over to the clock that sat on the end table next to the couch. 1: 45am. It was late and she knew she should probably get some sleep. Even casting that small spell had made her tired and she was still not fully recovered from the previous night. Amy had called twice since her last message and Willow had let the machine answer it. With each phone call she had gotten more and more insistent that Willow call her back. ‘Let’s have fun and hang out. C’mon, where in the world could you possibly be? You’re not over at Racks are you? You wouldn’t go there with me, would you?’ The desperation in Amy’s voice made Willow sadder. She did want to be out, having fun. She wanted to be anywhere then on the couch, picking at a bag of popcorn and watching old sitcom reruns. But, she couldn’t. If she was going to stop it meant not going to Racks again.
She felt like she could still feel him inside of her. She knew that his voice was still in her head, ‘You ... have power, girl.’ Every time he came in, she tried to shake him off. Then he would come on stronger, ‘You taste ... like strawberries.’ She couldn’t get away from him. Time. Buffy said all of this, people ignoring her, Tara being away, it was all going to take time. He would be gone soon, she hoped. He would be gone and she would be able to be rid of him. But, the power…
“No, no,” she got up from the couch and shut off the television. “No power and no more magic,” she spoke into the air. She turned on the lamp and went up to her bedroom.
She changed for bed and turned on the stereo. Climbing in, she pulled the covers up as if guarding against his voice. ‘The blankets and a good night sleep will keep him at bay,’ she amusingly thought to herself.
As she drifted off, she heard the singer crooning through the speakers,
Where do we go from here?
The words are coming out all weird
Where are you now, when I need you
Alone on an aeroplane
Fall asleep on against the window pane
My blood will thicken
I need to wash myself again to hide all the dirt and pain
'Cause I'd be scared that there's nothing underneath
But who are my real friends?
Have they all got the bends?
Am I really sinking this low?
My baby's got the bends, oh no
We don't have any real friends, no, no, no….
------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."
TITLE: Love Hangover--pt.5
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T-centric--with some other characters.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters. Nor do i own the end lyrics which come from Radiohead.
SUMMARY: More post 'WRECKED' stuff.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make
sense. Also, pretty angsty
But Willow didn’t get away from him that night. As she tossed and turned, she ran from him in her dreams. Every turn she took, he was there. Running in and out of alleys, in the woods, she ran through his invisible cloak and into his arms. He would leer at her and lick his finger, “I like strawberries.” The last time around, Buffy, Xander, Giles, Dawn and Tara were there, sitting on his ragged couch. They looked gaunt and worn out. Xander was scratching at his arm, mumbling something about worms. Giles was just staring off into nothing.
“They wanted to taste your power, red,” Rack said to her. “Not even the blonde one has known your power. They can’t get enough of it. But, her,” he said as he pointed to Tara, who was lying in the fetal position, “she doesn’t like my medicine. Makes her ill. If I’m lucky, I’ll drain her before the night is done.”
Willow woke up drenched in sweat and screaming.
Tara was startled from her sleep. She felt like someone had been next to her and had shaken her awake. She looked around but only saw the faint red glow of her alarm clock. Perhaps she had heard something, she thought. She laid down again and pulled the blankets closer around her, burying herself in their comfort. She shivered and tried to drift back to her dreamless sleep.
“So, she’s keeping my new one from me?” Rack stared up to his ceiling and saw Tara sleeping soundly in her bed. He had felt everything Willow had, the insecurity, the doubt, the broken heart. He also felt the guilt and the void she was trying to fill with his magic. The only thing that had separated her from the others was her power, aside from that Willow was just like the rest. Young and scared.
He needed her power and youth to keep himself strong. To fill her void, he would need five people a night and, with word on the street that the Slayer had known about him, business was not doing so great since. One person had come to see him, some old hag, dirty and smelly. She didn’t taste like strawberries, more like grain that left a bad taste in his mouth. He would need her and he would need her soon.
The next day passed quickly. Willow hadn’t slept well, so she only went to one class and spent the rest of the day trying to catch up on sleep. Though she searched for her, she didn’t see Tara that day. Was she ditching class so she didn’t run into her? Willow hoped not, last nights dreams had her unnerved and she wanted to make sure that Tara was ok. ‘I’m sure she is,’ Willow thought to herself. ‘She’s probably just getting settled in, buying things for the new place,” she tried to reassure herself. ‘Who am I kidding, she doesn’t want to see me. I’m an idiot who completely screwed things up and lied to her. I wouldn’t want to see me right now either.’
As night fell, Buffy took Dawn with her to the Magic Shop and left Willow home to catch up on some studying. After an hour of reading, she started getting antsy. She thought to herself and realized that she had only really spoken to Anya and Buffy in the past twenty four hours. She needed human contact. She put her books down and decided to go for a walk.
It was only a few blocks from the Magic Shop that she started feeling his vibes. They were unmistakable. A slow warmth started beneath her boots and started moving up her legs and she continued her walk. The further she walked, the stronger they got. Soon, her whole body felt warm and shaky. She stopped herself and looked down to her left, it was a Dead End. It must be there.
‘How appropriate,’ she thought to herself. She went to turn back the way she had come, but she couldn’t do it. She just stood there and stared at the sign over her head. Dead End. She would have a friend there. She would have fun and she was alone this time, so if anything happened it would only happen to her.
She started walking towards the end of the road and stopped again. ‘What the hell are you doing Rosenberg? Are you this pathetic? You don’t need his magic, you’re powerful, remember,” she was torn.
“But how powerful are you when you don’t even use what you have, girl?” Willow turned around and saw Rack standing behind her. “Are you coming to see little old me?”
She just stared at him and realized that if she wanted to get out now, it was going to have to be through him.
“I missed you, red. Last night, I was all by my lonesome. See, my people don’t like knowing that a Slayer is out looking for my place, so I’ve been alone. Doesn’t feel good to be alone, does it? Makes you feel hollow, a shell,” his eyes bore into her. “Doesn’t it?”
“I’m sorry to hear about your little accident. Very unfortunate, indeed. For both of us, huh? But, that’s half the fun of this, isn’t it? I mean, you loved the rush of it all, didn’t you? The magic, the running for your life.”
“You almost killed me. You almost killed my friend.”
“Wrong. You almost killed you and your friend. I wasn’t the one who decided to go all Dukes of Hazard with a stolen car. I was on my couch, satisfying another customer.” He smiled at her.
“What do you want from me? I’m done with magic.”
“Are you now? And, let me guess..” he paused for a moment. “You’ve gotten yourself a new job selling Amway? Avon? And you thought that I needed a new color scheme? Is that why you were going to come knocking on my door.”
“I-I wasn’t. I was just,” he cut her off.
“Shhh..” he walked up to her and placed a finger on her lips. “It’s ok, no one here but you and I. No need to lie to Rack, is there? I’m not going to judge you or tell you what you’re doing is wrong. I know what you are and I know what you’re capable of. Pity that you’re friends don’t know the same.”
He went to place a hand on her chest. She moved out of the way as her hand came up and slapped his away.
“Get away from me,” she said, her voice shaking with anger.
“Make me, girl.”
The two stared at each other for a moment. Willow didn’t know what she was up against and wasn’t up to finding out. She moved to the left and started walking by him. As she passed him, she closed her eyes and waited for something to hit her. But, nothing came.
As she got a few feet away, she exhaled.
“You know you can’t get away from me, girl. I’m inside you, crawling around and making myself a home. If you don’t come on your own, I’ll make you come back to me,” Rack shouted as Willow started to run.
------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."
TITLE: Love Hangover--pt.6
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T-centric--with some other characters.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters. The incantations are from Paganlore.com
SUMMARY: More post 'WRECKED' stuff.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make
sense. Also, pretty angsty
Willow ran so fast that she thought her chest might explode. She had to get away, the further from Rack, the better. By the time she stopped, she hadn’t even realized where she had run to. She looked up and found herself a block away from the Magic Shop. She also saw Tara walking out, alone. She wanted to keep running, far from her, far from her friends and out of Sunnydale. But, she didn’t. Instead, she took a breath and walked towards Tara, who was walking with her back to her.
“Tara, please,” she said as she caught up with her, “please don’t walk away from me. Not now.”
The blonde jumped at the sound of Willows voice and paused. Instead of continuing on, she did turn around and met her lovers eyes for the first time in a couple of days.
“Tara,” Willow spoke her name once more.
“Wh-what,” she had trouble getting the words out. “What do you want,” she said, trying to be strong.
Willow didn’t say anything, instead she just fell into her arms and started to cry.
“I-I can’t do this by myself, Tara. I can’t. I thought I was strong, but I’m not. My whole world is messed up. I’m so alone with out you. I’m so sorry, Tara. I’m so sorry,” she was crying so hard that her body was heaving. “I didn’t mean for this, Tara. I didn’t want to send you away. I just got so caught up and then it got worse and I got out of control. And he won’t leave me alone. He’s in my dreams and I can hear him in my head and I just want things to go back to what they were.”
Tara moved a step back from Willow. She didn’t know whether to pull her closer or leave her there crying. She knew that she couldn’t though. For as angry as she was at Willow, seeing her like this destroyed any ounce of will that she had.
“Shh, Will,” she said wiping the tears off of Willows face. “What’s going on?”
“Rack.. I was walking and he was there and he said he would bring me back, even if I didn’t want him to. I’m scared, Tara. You were in my dream last night and he was going to drain you and I woke up screaming.”
Tara thought about being startled from her sleep. Perhaps she had felt Willows distress.
“It’s ok, Willow. I’m ok. Let me take you back to the Magic Shop so we can tell the others.”
“No, I-I can’t see them right now,” Willow said shaking her head. “I can’t let them see me like this. I can’t hear it from them right now. I just want to go home,” she looked up at Tara.
“Please take me home.”
Tara had made some tea when they reached the Summers home. By the time she had brought the mug to Willows room, the redhead was asleep. She pulled the covers up over her and, almost out of instinct, she kissed her on the forehead.
When she left the room, the doorbell rang and she went downstairs to answer it.
“Dawn, did you forget your keys,” she said as she swung open the door. “Amy.”
Willows friend had looked worse since Tara had seen her recently. But, she wasn’t a rat anymore, Tara thought, so this can’t be much worse.
Amy came through the door and looked around nervously.
“Is Willow here?” her eyes darted back and fourth.
“She’s sleeping.”
“Is she in her room? I, uh, I kind of need to see her right now,” Amy said as she started making her way towards the stairs.
“Actually, it’s probably best if you don’t right now, Amy. Actually, it would be best if you didn’t see her again,” Tara moved over and blocked her way.
Amy stopped and sized Tara up. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, Willow needs a life without magic right now. She’s in bad shape and it would be best if you weren’t around her right now.”
“I don’t think you speak for her,” Amy said, taking a step back. “In fact, I think you lost that right when you left her.”
Tara winced when Amy’s words hit her.
“She had more fun with me in the two days that we hung out then in the two years that you were with her. I appreciate her power. You and Buffy just want her to act like she doesn’t have it. You want her to be like every other little drone in Sunnydale and Willow is so beyond that and you that’s it sickens me.”
Tara lowered her head so that the witch didn’t see her chin quivering. “Leave, Amy, you aren’t wanted here.”
“I’ll leave when Willow tells me to. Until then, you can get out of my way,” she said as she went to move Tara out of the way.
Tara caught her arm and pushed her back.
“Don’t touch me, Tara.”
“Leave, Amy. I won’t tell you again.”
“Leave or you’ll what? Blind me with sage? You haven’t got anything on me,” Amy said, threatening her.
Tara looked up the stairs to make sure that Willow hadn’t been woken by the commotion. When she saw that she hadn’t, she turned to Amy, “Do you want to try that theory?”
Amy smirked at her, “Willow will just have to forgive me.”
She stretched her hand towards Tara and said
Goddess Hectate
Work thy will
Before thee
Let the unclean thing crawl
Before the light struck Tara, she put up her palm and calmly uttered, “Null.” The light shattered against her.
“You don’t think I know that spell? My mother taught it to me when I was younger. She brought me up to defend myself against the darker magicks in this world,” Tara said as she rubbed her hand.
“Besides, Amy, Willow told me that was the spell you worked on Buffy and on yourself."
Amy just glared at her.
“I need to talk to Willow,” Amy reiterated again.
“No, Amy, you need to leave and you need to leave Willow alone.”
“I need to talk to Willow,” her voice raising in anger.
Tara’s body language changed and she became more defensive.
“Leave.”
Amy put her head back and started another incantation
Blind thee fool
Who wishes harm
Grant thy will
Work thy charm
As Amy spoke every word, Tara countered with her own
Apollo's light surround me.
Poseidon's water protect me.
Athena's wisdom guide me.
Another shot came from Amy’s hand and struck against Tara. Instead of protecting herself with a single palm, Tara was engulfed by a faint white light. Amy’s spell was absorbed by the light and evaporated before their eyes.
Tara looked at her through the light, “I am done playing. Never come here again.” Tara vanished the shield and started her own spell
By the crimson and the gold
By basilisk and bloodstone
By the garlic in the fields
By the poppies and what they yield
Invisibly I make my shield
To detect thee and deflect thee
And keep thy harm from me
By the power of three times three
I banish thee, I banish thee, I banish thee
So mote it be!
As if pulled by an unseen force, Amy was dragged backwards out of the house and the door closed behind her. Again, Tara looked up towards Willows bedroom to ensure that she had not been woken. After a few seconds, Tara sat down on the stairs and started to cry.
------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."
TITLE: Love Hangover--pt.7
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T-centric--with some other characters.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters.
SUMMARY: More post 'WRECKED' stuff.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make
sense. Also, pretty angsty
Tara let Willow sleep through the night. She wanted to join her in the bed, lay down with her and feel her warmth once more. But, the anger and hurt she still felt for her kept her away. Instead, she opted for the floor of the bedroom, which still kept her close by.
She heard Willow toss and turn through her sleep. Tara knew that Willow occasionally talked in her sleep, but she had never heard her do it this much. She heard her name mentioned a few times, but most of it seemed like Willow was trying to escape something. At around 3 a.m., she heard Willow scream and wake up crying. She lifted herself off the floor and went to her.
“Tara, no, Tara…” she was disorientated.
“Shhh, Will, it’s ok. I’m here, it’s ok,” Tara took her in her arms and stroked her head.
Willow grabbed Tara close to her, coming out of her sleepy state.
“Tara, you were gone,” Willow buried her head in Tara’s neck.
“I’m here,” she wiped the tears off of Willows face, but they didn’t stop coming.
“He had you, Tara. He was hurting you. He said he knew how to get at me,” she looked up at Tara, “through you.”
“Nobody’s going to get us, Will. You just had a nightmare. It’s probably just the magic leaving your system.”
She sat there and held Willow as she calmed down. Finally, Willow broke the silence, “Will you hold me?”
Tara paused for a moment, thinking it over in her head. Even her animosity wasn’t strong enough to turn Willow down. She nodded and pulled down the other side of the blankets. When they laid down, Willow wrapped one arm around Tara and laid her head on her chest. Then, they fell asleep.
The alarm clock woke Willow up around nine. She groggily reached over to turn it off and realized that she was alone. Tara had left sometime that morning. A wave of sadness rushed over Willow. ‘She could have said goodbye,” she thought as she pushed aside the covers. When she sat up, she noticed a piece of paper lying on the nightstand with her name on it. She opened it and found a note from Tara.
Willow,
I’m sorry for leaving you so quickly this morning, but I had to. I woke up this morning and saw you next to me and knew that was how I wanted to wake up every morning. I know that I want you by my side, but I am still reeling from what you did to me. I still need some time away from you. I would like to believe that you are through with abusing magic, but I can’t say that with a whole heart. Until I am able to, I have to stay away.
This isn’t easy for me, you have to believe that. It is killing me more than I will ever be able to express to you. But, please know, that I still love you.
Yours always,
Tara.
Willow put the note down and felt the tears come once more. This time, though, she did not let them brim over. She just left the room and went down stairs to make breakfast. She was starved and didn’t want to make the bed, in case it would disturb Tara’s scent that still hung in the air.
Tara walked back that morning with a sense of confusion. She felt calm after spending the night in bed with Willow, but she was also a little worried about her exchange with Amy and the dreams that Willow had about Rack.
She knew nothing of this man or his power. She just knew that his magic was dark and strong. Perhaps, it was nothing to worry about and that he was just a parasite who fed off of the energy of others. Still, this did not comfort her. Though she had never met someone who worked in his same dubious profession, she had heard stories of magic dealers from her mothers relatives and if this man was anything like them, it was not a good sign.
She was also worried about Amy. She had banished the witch from the Summers home and charmed herself to know if the witch was around. But, and she knew this would be more likely, if Willow was outside of the house or away from her, Amy would be able to get to her. She wanted to protect Willow more than anything in this world, but was also in the situation of needing to stay away from her for her own sanity.
After getting settled into her room, she opened up the trunk that lied at the foot of her bed and pulled out some age worn books. She grabbed a notebook from her book bag and started some non-academic studying.
That night, Amy visited Racks for the first time in days. As she walked through his barrier, she saw only one other person waiting on the couch.
“Is someone in there with him?” she asked the pale faced man.
“No and I’m next, so don’t think you can just walk in there like you did the other night.”
She looked at him with disgust and went to Racks door. As she went to knock, a voice came from behind her.
“Where is she?”
She turned around and was face to face with him.
“Rack,” she said mustering up an insincere smile.
“Willow. Where is she?”
“Home, I think.”
“Go get her.”
“Rack, I can’t. She won’t return my calls and last night I went over there and her bitch ex-girlfriend banished me. I can’t go back.”
Rack shook his head, “Child. Still getting yourself into things you can’t handle, huh? You would think being a rat for a few years would have taught you something.”
Amy looked away and said, “But, I’m still here, Rack. I mean, you still want to see me, right?”
He looked her up and down and thought about his answer. When he took too long, she spoke again.
“You don’t need her, Rack. I have power for you.”
“You have nothing compared to her,” he sighed and turned away.
“Hey, Rack man, I’ve been here a while,” the man spoke up from the couch. “It’s not fair, man. C’mon, I need it.”
Rack threw his arm out and the mans mouth disappeared. The mans eyes widened out of shock and then turned to fear as he began to scratch at where his mouth had just been.
Amy’s jaw dropped and she stepped away from Rack. She couldn’t peel her eyes away from the man as blood started to run down his chin.
“Idiot, you’re staining my couch,” Rack yelled as he rushed toward the man and grabbed him off of the couch. Within a second, he threw the man through the wall and he was gone.
“Ar-aren’t you going to fix him?”
“Eventually, but not after he learns not to interrupt me,” he wiped his hands on his jeans and walked towards Amy, who was moving backwards with every step he took.
When he had her pinned against the wall, he brought one hand over her face and whispered, “I wonder how you would look like without a mouth.”
Amy began to shake at the thought of this.
“Or how would you like to see how one can live without a heart?” he said as he moved his hand down to her chest.
“No, please, Rack,” she started crying.
Suddenly he pushed off the wall and spun away.
“Well, I need something, Amy,” he yelled in the empty room. “You come here with your low grade power and expect it to satisfy me?”
He turned back and looked her again, “Never insult me like that.”
Amy closed her eyes and waited for something to happen. She braced against the inevitable energy that would strike her dead. She waited for the pain. Instead, all she got was his laughter.
“God, I love fear,” he said with a wide smile on his face. “C’mon, you’ll have to do.” He took her by the hand and pulled her into his bedroom.
------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."
TITLE: Love Hangover--pt.8
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T-centric--with some other characters.
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters.
SUMMARY: More post 'WRECKED' stuff.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make
sense. Also, pretty angsty
Amy had left hours ago and Mr. Talkative had not come back. Really, what would he have to say to defend himself, Rack thought. Aside from the two visitors, no one had come to see Rack that night and he was not happy about it.
“Fucking witch,” Rack yelled as he threw a lamp across the living room. “How dare she let me taste her and never come back. Fucking tease,” as he yelled, he paced quickly back and forth.
“I’ll make her come to me. I’ll make her need me,” he turned and walked into the bedroom.
Tara had stayed up through most of the night. Then, finally, around four she headed off to bed. Just as she was falling asleep, there was a knocking at her door. Sleepily, she got out of bed and pulled on her robe. Her first thought was that something bad had happened to Willow. She didn’t know any of her neighbors and ruled out that it could be one of them asking for a cup of sugar at this hour. She opened the door and saw nothing but the darkness. She stuck her head out into the corridor and saw no sign of the person who had been at her door.
“Probably just someone stumbling in,” she said to the air.
She closed the door and turned around to head back to her bed. That’s when she saw his figure in the shadows. She could make out his scraggily hair and square figure. In the moonlight she also saw that something was not right with one half of his face.
“Who-who are,” she started to stutter.
“Quiet,” he gently said and waved his hand. Tara tried to speak, but no sound came out of her mouth. She tried to scream, but only released air.
“I don’t want you pulling the same tricks on me, girl. Amy mentioned your banishment spell earlier and, well, I don’t much feel like going anywhere right now.”
He walked around the edge of the bed and came towards her, she moved to avoid his contact.
“Goddamn it, girl, sit down,” he moved his hand and Tara was thrown down on the bed. He put up his hand again and said, “Paral,” and Tara felt her muscles freeze. She tried to move, but could not. He had incapacitated her completely.
He walked closer to her and knelt down in front of her. His hands were less than an inch above her and he slowly started to move them across her body.
“Hmmm.. red has good taste. Strength.” He moved his hands above her a little more like he was reading brail. He looked Tara in her terrified eyes and licked his lips, “Oh, and there’s innocence her, too. What a good little girl, you are. Never touch the stuff, do you? Well, don’t worry, love, I’ll fix that for you the moment we get back to my place.”
He pulled his hands away from her and placed them in front of her face. “Wanna see a magic trick?” he asked as he wriggled his fingers so she could see the red sparks shooting off of them. “This one will dazzle you,” Rack said as he placed his hand on Tara’s chest, sending the energy exchange between them.
Dawn hung up the phone in the kitchen. Tara had said she wanted her to call Saturday morning, but she wasn’t there. Dawn looked disappointed as she turned around and sat down at the table. Now that the pain medicine was finally wearing off, she wanted to take Tara up on her offer of shakes.
“Why the face, Dawn,” Buffy asked when she saw her.
“Oh, just trying to get a hold of Tara, but she’s not home.”
“Ah, she’s probably just catching on the sleep. Rough week for everyone, you know. Not like I have to tell you though.”
Dawn mustered up a small smile. She had really wanted to talk to Tara since the accident. Tara was the only person she felt she could completely open up to. Since her mother and sisters death, Tara had become sort of a parent to her. Since Buffy had come back there had been weirdness in the house and now with Willow and her magic problem, Dawn felt like Tara was the only one who wasn’t slightly messed up in the head.
“I guess I’ll try later.”
The first thing that Tara noticed as she slowly started to wake up was the smell and the pain. The room smelled like a mixture of chemistry lab and a sewer. As she inhaled a lung full of it, she started to cough roughly. As she did, the pain that she dully felt throughout her body shot through her again and she moaned loudly. She was able to move a little more than she remembered being able to before, though not much. She was strapped to a wall, that she knew. Her hands and ankles felt like a million needles were penetrating her. She would think that they were just asleep, if it weren’t for the burning that accompanied it.
“Good morning, sunshine,” she heard his voice somewhere to the side of her. “Thought I had killed you with all of my fun last night,” she saw him move into her peripheral vision as he came around and stood right in front of her.
He put his arms above her head and moved down closer to her, his mouth just inches away from hers. “Don’t want to do that yet, though. Little red won’t come if there’s nothing here for her. And I know she will,” he moved in and licked the corner of her mouth with his tongue. As he pulled back, Tara saw blood on it. ”Can’t say that I’d blame her. If I had something that tasted that good, I’d go after it, too. I’d die for it, just like she will.”
She moved her own to her lips and tasted it. She started shaking, but would not cry. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of that.
He moved away and looked at her before he exited the room. When the door was shut, she let the tears come to wash away his lingering touch.
Dawn had left three messages for Tara before finally deciding to go over and pay a visit. She needed to get away from the house. Willow, who she was definitely not talking to, was studying in the living room. To avoid running into her at all, she would have to stay in her own room and, after doing that for too many days, she decided to leave the house. She wrote Buffy a note and headed out the door.
Dawn knocked on Tara’s door and waited. After a few moments she knocked again and waited once more. After no one answered, she leaned in to see if she could hear any signs of Tara in there. When she leaned in, she could hear the faint buzzing of Tara’s alarm clock. It was past three and Dawn knew that Tara would never be asleep that late. ‘Maybe she’s got headphones on,’ she thought to herself as she tried the doorknob. The door opened easily and Dawns mouth dropped at what she saw.
On the wall above Tara’s bed, there were over a dozen photos that had been taken of the couple. Encircling it, a border of blood. Blood was also smeared on the images of Willow and x’s had been drawn over Tara’s eyes like Dawn had seen on Saturday morning cartoon characters that had met an untimely ending by an ACME product. The bed had been trashed and Tara’s robe laid shredded on the floor.
Dawn ran out of the building and down the street. She burst into her house and started yelling Willow’s name.
Willow rushed out of the kitchen, “Dawnie, what is it?”
“Willow,” the young girl started crying, “it’s Tara. She’s gone.”
------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."
Part 9 reposted by xita from the backup board!
Dawns words cut through Willow like a knife.
“No, no,” she stood there, shaking her head, backing away from Dawn.
“Willow, I’m not kidding. Her room, there was a struggle,” Dawn lowered her head, “and there’s blood.”
Willow started sobbing. Her nightmares were coming true. She knew it was him and she knew it was because of her.
Willow ran and pushed Dawn out of her way as she made her way up to her bedroom. She threw open the closet door and started tossing out boxes that lie on the top shelf. Shoes and winter hats were strewn on the floor by the time she reached the back of it. This was where she had kept remnants of magick ingredients from spells she had used against Glory and to revive Buffy. She grabbed the ingredients and threw them into her bag. She knew she didn’t have everything, though. The Magic Shop. She needed another book and a few more items. She ran down the stairs and out the door before Dawn could hang up the phone and yell to her to stop.
Xander and Anya were talking to Buffy when they turned and heard the bell on the Shop’s door chime. Dawn had called to tell them about what she had found in Tara’s room and that Willow had run out of the house a few moments before. Buffy went to turn to run to Willow when she was stopped by the look on Willow’s face.
“Willow, please, don’t. Let me help you get him. It’s not,” Buffy stopped again as Willow put up her hand to speak.
“Buffy, I can’t. If he see’s you, it’s over. She’s with him because of me, because of what I did. This is my fight.”
“Don’t be stupid, Will. You remember what happened when you went off to fight Glory. You could have been killed if I hadn’t been there.”
“No, you could fight Glory because she had physical power. Rack’s power doesn’t work like that. I—my power works like that. I can’t lose her again,” Willows lower lip started to tremble at the thought of losing her lover again.
“Will, she’s right. We should go with you,” Xander said as he moved from around the counter and stood next to Buffy.
“Xander,” she spoke to her friend for the first time in days, “it ends here. Rack, my magic, everything. If he kills her, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”
“But, you don’t know,” Anya started to say as Willow reached in her bag and pulled out a handful of yellowish powder.
“Guys, I’m sorry,” she brought the powder up to her mouth and blew it off of her hand.
“Pull the nights sky
Over my intended eyes
Let them rest
So that I may venture upon my quest
Nocturm”
Buffy had started to run towards her, to stop her incantation. But, as Willow uttered her final words, her three friends collapsed on the floor, asleep.
Willow walked around Buffy and climbed the ladder to the upper loft of the shop. She had visited this area a few times before but this the second time she would do so in Tara’s name. She wrapped a few vials of variously colored liquids in a dress that Tara had left behind and placed the package into her bag. Then she pulled a familiar text off of the shelf and watched at the pages did their dance and reached the section that she needed. She closed the book and placed it gently in the bag so as to not crush the precious and volatile vials. She descended the stairs again and ran out into the night.
Amy was on her bed trying to find a reversal spell for Tara’s banishment spell. She had promised Rack last night that she would deliver Willow and, if she ever wanted to visit him again, she knew she had to make good on it.
She heard the wind picking up outside and looked up as tree branches began to pound and scratch against the windowpane. She walked over to close the curtain and was thrown back against the bed as the window imploded. Amy screamed and tried to guard her face against the shrapnel. She felt a few shards cut into her before the commotion was over. She looked up and saw with, eyes darkened, floating half a foot above the floor, coming through the hole where her window had just been.
“Willow, my god, what the fuck are you doing?” Amy screamed as she rolled off the other side of the bed, trying to get some distance between her and Willow.
“He has her Amy. Where is he?”
“Who? Tara? He has Tara? Why?”
Amy was picked up off of the floor and thrown against the wall by another upswing in the air.
“You do not ask the questions here Amy. Tell me where he is,” Willow said moving towards her.
“I don’t know, Willow, I swear,” she screamed.
“Don’t lie to me, Amy. You brought this into my life. You brought me there. None of this would be happening if it weren’t for you. You owe me your human form and you owe me answers,” Willows eyes grew darker as her voice started to rise.
“I owe you nothing. You owe me,” she screamed back at her.
“You’re right, Amy. I do owe you,” her hand shot out and fired a bolt of light into Amy, striking her.
Amy screamed and collapsed to her knees. She struggled to breathe as Willow lowered herself to the ground and picked her up with her hands.
“I’ve hurt Gods, Amy, so don’t think I won’t do worse to you,” she said, meeting Amy’s eyes with her own.
“Where is he?”
Amy was crying as she fought to get the words out, “Ok, ok. H-he wanted me to bring you to him tonight. The last loading dock at the pier, number 43.”
Willow let her fall under her own weight. She turned her back and started towards the gap in the wall before stopping. “This all ends tonight,” Willow said to herself.
She turned herself back around to Amy and said
Goddess Hectate
Work thy will
Before thee
Let the unclean thing crawl
“Not again,” were Amy’s last words before the light hit her and her body was changed back into a rat.
Willow walked to the opening and paused. She incanted a familiar Latin spell and felt the weight of her body disappear. She slowly rose up again and was gone.
The pier was empty, which was not odd for that hour of the night. As Willow ran across the wooden slats, she couldn’t stop herself from crying. ‘God, don’t let me be too late. Let me get to her in time,’ she thought as she pushed herself on towards the end of the pier. As the numbers on the panels began to rise, she slowly felt the warmth rising within her body. By the time she reached the last few numbers, her body felt as thought it were on fire. She didn’t even turn her head as she reached the end and dove into invisible field.
She caught herself before she fell onto the floor. She frantically looked around the room and saw no sign on Rack or Tara. She called out Tara’s name and heard nothing. She pushed her way into Racks bedroom and saw her. Tara was two feet off the ground, her hands bound to the wall by and waxing substance. She was either sleeping or knocked out and there was blood on her face.
“Oh, God, Tara.” Willow ran to her. “Tara, baby, wake up.”
The blonde stirred and lifted her head
