Sorry it's been so long kittens. I've been sooo busy. In fact, I shouldn't have been writing this update, I have so many assignments to do. But I had to decide between; an update, or feature writing assignment... hmm. Anyway, I'm not too sure if this update is gonna get a little confusing or not. You'll have to give me feedback on that and I can amend it depending on people's views.
I'd better post this thing now or I'll never stop rambling.
Part 10
Oh, this was just wonderful, thought Spike. First, he had lost the victim of his street robbery, then the Slayer had gotten on his back, and now he was facing down the vampiric version of the Slayer’s best buddy. Just bloody wonderful. He wondered if he’d have to be the one to inform Buffy of Willow’s death and if so, if she would blame him. Though it was impossible for him to bite a living human, the Slayer would still find some way of blaming him. He sighed audibly as the flame haired vampire stalked towards him.
He took in the sight of her, in all her leather bound glory. She looked far more alluring now than her former fuzzy self ever had. Spike mused over whether he could strike up a deal with the redhead and they could create a little business here in Sunnydale. Willow could kill the snivelling inhabitants in this pathetic town and Spike could feed off any she brought back to him. He shook the idea from his mind, knowing that situation would upset the Slayer and he didn’t want that. Besides, he doubted Willow would ever want to team up with him. She was a merciless killer now, pure and simple. He smiled at the realisation of how something so pure and good could be tainted to such an extreme.
His thoughts were derailed when a low growl emitted from the redhead’s throat. Her eyes had narrowed and she was coming ever closer. He took an involuntary step backwards and cursed his actions. He despised creatures that showed their weakness and he was doing that now. He was showing he was scared. He knew he would be able to fight Willow now that she was a vampire but something inside him kept telling him that they had fought side by side so many times. This wasn’t right. He almost laughed at that thought. Right. Since when had he ever done something because it was right? The idea was absurd.
Giving him no more time to ponder his situation, Willow lunged forwards with a speed that surprised Spike. It was a well-known fact that smaller and slimmer vampires were faster and more agile but the speed at which she moved was beyond anything Spike had seen before. Had he had the time to ponder the fact, he might have thought it was because of her mystical aptitude heightening her demonic attributes. He wasn’t given the opportunity though.
He spun away from the lunging redhead and she passed by him. He turned to see her glaring menacingly at him and he smiled smugly. “Miss me?”
Willow growled again before jerking forwards once more. He strafed to his left but the other vampire had tricked him. She followed his move, obviously realising which way he would go. It was apparent that some or all of her intelligence had manifested itself in her vampiric form. She reached out and grabbed his upper arms, shoving firmly and sending both of them to the ground. She straddled his torso and pinned his arms to the ground, grinning maniacally at him. Spike struggled but it seemed she had far more strength than her small frame suggested.
“What are you playing at?” Spike hissed.
Willow continued to smile, her razor sharp nails digging into the cold flesh of Spike’s wrists. “Be a good puppy and be quiet.” Her voice was eerily soothing.
The redhead slowly applied pressure on his skin and Spike winced in pain. He could feel the blood seep from the wounds she was causing and he struggled harder. This only succeeded in making the wounds larger, making Willow’s smile broaden.
“Get the hell off me!” He shouted.
Willow stopped her increase of pressure but didn’t take her hands away. She tilted her head to the side, silently pondering his words. “I thought you enjoyed pain, puppy.”
“Inflicting it, you bint. And I aint your puppy.” He snapped.
Willow chuckled softly. “Puppy’s being naughty. Willow’s gonna have to discipline you.”
His screams pierced the night and rang out through the cemetery.
*
All she could hear was the rhythmic pounding of her boots against the grass. She had even stopped being aware of her breathing. Her lungs were calling out in pain and she was sure she would soon pass out from lack of oxygen. She didn’t care though; all that mattered was getting to the tablet before Buffy did. Twigs of trees she ran past to close to, slapped against her face but she ignored the sharp stinging. Her destination seemed to be a thousand miles away.
Her surroundings became a little more familiar and she realised she was nearing the spot where all this had started. She hoped that she would make it in time. She burst into the open space that held three crypts that she recognised immediately. Her attention was drawn to Cerberus who was growling at something. She moved towards him and his heads snapped upwards.
Tara then saw Willow lying sprawled on the ground, obviously having been attacked by the hellhound. Her first instinct was to go to her and she had to remind herself why she was here. The three-headed demon bounded towards her and Tara had to raise her hands and erect a magical barrier to impede his attack. He roared with anger as he impacted with her defences.
“Stop!” She shouted. “I’m here to help you.”
This seemed to temper the demon’s fury for a moment and he tilted his centre head to the side. “Nice try, little one, but I saw you run from me. You are merely trying to help your friend.”
Tara shook her head. “No, I know about the tablet, I want to help you get back to where you belong.”
Cerberus narrowed his eyes and fell silent for several minutes. Tara began to get anxious, knowing Buffy would appear at any moment and Tara wasn’t particularly to see another version of herself either. “How do you know of the tablet, little one?” The demon asked.
“You told me.” She paused and watched an expression of confusion, or one that Tara thought resembled confusion, cross the demon’s face. “In another time. In a few moments, the Slayer will come and fight you. The battle will lead to the destruction of the tablet and you will take my friend and me back in time with you. You agreed to bring me back here so I could stop the tablet from being harmed.”
At first, Cerberus didn’t speak, didn’t even move. He merely stood, regarding Tara with an expression she couldn’t read. “If what you say—”
“I don’t care if you don’t believe me, just check the third crypt and you’ll find your stupid tablet.” Tara interrupted.
Cerberus’ attention drifted to the crypts and he made a move towards them. He hesitated for a moment, looking down at Tara. “If this is a trick, I will eat you limb by limb.”
Tara merely backed off, allowing the demon all the space he needed. He quickly moved towards the crypt Tara had informed him about. Noises from the trees behind Tara, caught her attention and she turned to see Buffy emerging from them. The Slayer saw her immediately and she froze on the spot with a puzzled expression. Before Buffy could question Tara, the sound of stone shattering echoed through the night and all heads turned towards where Cerberus was throwing rubble aside.
A gasp told Tara that her other self had appeared but she didn’t turn to face her, she just continued to wish that this would all be over. Eventually, Cerberus pulled back from the crushed crypt and Tara could see the tablet held between two powerful jaws. He gently laid the stone on the ground and looked over the writing.
“Finally.” He uttered.
“What the..?” Came the Slayer’s voice.
Tara felt Buffy brush past her and she reached out to grasp the Slayer’s arm. Buffy spun around, taking in the blonde standing directly in front of her, and the duplicate standing several metres behind her. Tara could see the different thoughts racing across Buffy’s face. “I’m sorry.” Tara muttered before placing a hand to the Slayer’s head a uttering a few words in Latin. The Slayer immediately dropped to the ground in a peaceful sleep.
“What are you?” Tara heard the shaky voice and turned to see her other self gazing at her with a look of terror and curiosity. Such a strange combination, She thought.
“Who am I, you mean.” She began. “I’m you, of course, if older by a few days.” She let out an uncharacteristic chuckle at the absurdity of it.
“You’re lying.” The other Tara shouted and she could tell the other blonde was concentrating. It was obvious she was about to do a spell and Tara didn’t particularly want to be attacked by herself.
She stepped backwards, holding her hands up in front of her. “Wait.”
The other Tara paused and looked at her. Something passed between them and Tara knew that her other self wouldn’t harm her. On an instinctual level, her duplicate knew that she wasn’t a threat. She saw the other Tara’s gaze move past her and she turned, seeing Cerberus chanting quietly.
A feeling of relief washed over her and she knew it would all go back to how it was meant to be very soon. She heard movement to her right and looked to see a familiar pale redhead stalking towards her. The vampire was wearing a long black leather jacket that Tara recognised as belonging to the bleached blonde vampire she had encountered before. She shuddered at the thought of what Willow had done to him.
“Ooh, there are two of you.” Willow’s eyes gleamed with excitement as she took in the sight of Tara and her other self.
Tara watched as the vampire scoured the rest of the scene and saw the realisation set into her features as Willow noticed her doppelganger and Cerberus. Her steely green gaze quickly snapped back to Tara, condemnation contorting her face.
“You tricked me!” She snarled, moving forwards with purpose.
Tara retreated, backing towards her duplicate. “Willow, no, I’m just trying to help you.” The vampire continued to bear down on her. “Help us.”
“You’re the one who’s gonna need help.” Menace laced her words as she shifted to her vampiric form.
Tara heard a gasp from behind her and could almost feel the terror emanating from her other self. Willow was only a few feet away now and extremely angry. She lunged forwards at Tara, her hands outstretched. Tara felt the impact of the small vampire and tumbled backwards, her vampiric lover landing on top of her. The air escaped her lungs as she met with the ground and she gasped in pain.
Willow lifted herself onto her hands and glared down at Tara with evil yellow eyes. Her intent was clear by the frozen snarl that captured her features. She wanted to hurt Tara. A lot. She snapped her fist backwards, ready to smash it into the frightened blonde’s face. Tara squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting the force of the blow.
It never came.
*
Tara didn’t open her eyes at first, she was only aware that she was alone. The weight above her body had gone and she couldn’t feel the presence of those she had before. In fact, she couldn’t feel the presence of anyone at all. The loneliness crept up her spine like a chill and she shivered. She couldn’t feel the grass beneath her either and couldn’t quite recognise the material that had replaced. She felt disembodied, detached from reality. She wasn’t sure why she had her eyes shut and the recent memories of the tragic chain of events were fading from her mind.
She took a sharp intake of breath and a faint recognition invaded her senses. She could almost work out where she was. The scent of the place reminded her of some location that she knew she should remember. A sound caught her attention and she stilled her breathing to try to figure out what it was. A second later, the noise came again. It reminded Tara of tapping on wood.
Her eyelids snapped open and she sat bolt upright. She took in the sight around her and looked quizzically around herself. She was, once again, in her dorm room. An increasingly urgent knocking at her door chased away the echoes of the past and she swung her legs over the side of her bed.
She moved to the door and opened it to find a gorgeous redhead standing there.
“Hey.” Willow greeted brightly, stepping into the room as Tara moved aside. She turned to face the blonde once again as the door was closed behind them. “How’s my favourite blonde?”
Tara grinned, her blue eyes sparkling in the glow of the candlelight. “Just fine.”
“Aww, too bad. I was hoping that you might be in need of hug therapy. You see, I have this urge to wrap myself around a beautiful woman.” Willow’s green orbs glinted as she teased the shy Wiccan.
Tara giggled. “Now that you mention it, I am feeling kind of cold.” Willow moved to her instantly, folding her arms around the blonde’s waist and drawing her close. These actions felt all too familiar to Tara and she was having a big case of déjà vu.
“Better?” Willow enquired, obviously seeing the puzzled look on the blonde’s face.
The blonde nodded. “I’m getting all warm and fuzzy inside.” She bent her head forward and kissed the redhead’s nose, glad to be in Willow’s company again. She felt as though it had been forever since they last saw one another. “Aren’t you going out on patrol tonight?”
Willow pouted at Tara’s question. “Don’t you want me here?”
Tara squeezed the redhead. “Of course I do.” Willow’s pout was replaced by a smile.
“I was supposed to be accompanying our fair Slayer but I had to come see my stunning princess. I missed you.” Willow went into dramatic mode.
Tara laughed softly. “So you’re aspiring to become a knight then. Looks like your drama classes are paying off.” She teased.
Willow backed away, her smile never fading. She held Tara’s hand as she sat down on the blonde’s bed, pulling her down beside her. Once Tara was settled, the redhead leaned in against her and rested her head against the blonde’s shoulder. With her free hand, Tara stroked the side of Willow’s head. The pair sat, enjoying each others company for a while, the silence comfortable for both of them.
Eventually, Willow broke the silence. “What are you thinking?” She murmured softly.
“Oh, just about you. Well, about us really.” She answered, distracted by her thoughts.
Willow lifted her head and looked at her companion. “What about us?”
Tara pulled herself from her thoughts and focused on the redhead beside her. She had been thinking about the past few weeks and how they’d grown closer. She wasn’t sure of what Willow thought about the two of them and they hadn’t exactly been labelled either. Were they girlfriends? That had never been discussed. They weren’t lovers yet as they hadn’t passed the kissing stage and they were certainly more than friends but Tara didn’t know exactly what. “That’s kinda what I was wondering.” These thoughts were very important to Tara but something, more important, was niggling at the back of her mind.
Willow tilted her head to the side, wondering exactly what Tara was thinking. “I, uh… what?”
“It’s just…” Tara sighed, resigning herself to what she was about to say. “I don’t know where I stand with you Willow.”
The redhead’s face turned from curious to bemused in a few short moments. Then realisation hit her, the blonde was talking about their relationship. She opened her mouth to speak but shut it quickly again, standing and pacing away from the bed. This was something that had been chipping away at her thoughts for a while now and she had shelved it so she didn’t have to face it. Now, it seemed, she had to confront it and do it quickly or else she might lose this special woman. “Tara, I…” She turned to face the blonde, confusion flooding her green eyes.
Tara stood and moved towards her, stopping before she could enclose the redhead’s body in her arms. “You’re scared?”
Willow nodded, folding her arms over her stomach. “It’s all so new to me and I… I don’t know what to do.” She knew she had very strong feelings for Tara, even stronger than she had had for Oz. It had overwhelmed her because it had happened in such a short space of time and all the emotions whirled around inside of her. She was scared of what her friends and family might think and doubted she could ever handle their rejection but she never wanted to lose Tara.
Tara lowered her head, her long blonde tresses falling forward and obscuring her beautiful features. “I’ll s-support you in whatever you d-decide.” She said quietly.
Willow noticed the blonde’s stuttering had returned but it was something she rarely did when the two were alone. The redhead stepped forward, pulling Tara into a tight embrace. “No Tara no. I didn’t mean… I didn’t mean that I didn’t want to be with you.” She pulled out of the hug and tilted the blonde’s head upwards so their eyes could meet. “I do, I very much want to be with you. I’m just trying to get a hold of the feelings and thoughts floating around in my head. I don’t want to lose you, not because of my silly insecurities.”
Tara smiled. “You could never lose me, I wouldn’t let you.”
Her words filled Willow with happiness and it pushed the doubts away, leaving the two of them alone with the adoration they felt for one another. “I need to say… Tara…” Willow found she couldn’t say what she wanted and stopped herself from forming any more incoherent half sentences. The blonde in her arms continued to look at her expectantly. “Tara, I love you.” She finally managed, a weight lifting from her as the words passed her lips.
Tara’s blue eyes sparkled and tears spilled down her cheeks. She had finally found something she had yearned for all her life. Unconditional love and acceptance. She didn’t speak, instead she pulled Willow as close to her as possible and captured the redhead’s lips in a searing kiss.
When Tara pulled away from the kiss, a sense of urgency washed over her. Images flashed in her mind and she tried to place the faint memories. She knew something had happened in the past that was important to the current situation but she couldn’t place it. The more she thought about it, the more it eluded her.
“What’s up, baby?” Willow asked, caressing Tara’s cheek with one hand.
Words sprung to Tara’s lips and she was unable to stop them. “Don’t leave me tonight, Will. Stay with me.”
Willow looked at her confused for a moment and she opened her mouth to speak. She froze before any words could escape and Tara felt the redhead stiffen. “Uh, that was weird.”
Tara guessed Willow was also experiencing what she was. “What was?”
“Do you get the feeling we’ve done this before?” The petite redhead asked.
Tara nodded. “Like something important is going to happen and we’re just a tiny thought away from knowing what it is.”
Willow looked blankly at the blonde for a moment. She finally shrugged and smiled at Tara. “It’ll come to us eventually. The Hellmouth works in mysterious ways.”
Tara smirked. “Well, in that case, do you mind if you work that mouth in a different way, in the mean time.”
The redhead chuckled softly. “Anything for you.” She leaned forwards and kissed her love gently.
END OF PART 10
And you thought that was the end? Heh, nope, it certainly isn't! Hope you enjoyed.
Caz
Tara: I got so lost
Willow: I found you... I will always find you
And of course VW can kick Angelus' ass... I wouldn't have it any other way. 
I too Loved the part with the 2 Tara's! 
I was shocked that Cerberus actually kept his word cuz demons aren't really all that reliable. Tara went through a lot to get things back to the way they should be...and it certainly did pay off 
Will's back! Bless Cerberus. Bless Spike. Bless you! Smoochies are coming up, aren't they? *little dance* I can tell. 
