Disclaimer: Tara, Willow, and all characters connected with Buffy: TVS are properties of Joss Whedon, Fox, and now UPN.
Story: Takes place a few weeks after Buffy's death, now we all know that Willow's reversal spell on Tara worked but what if someone or something else hitched a ride.
The moon in Sunnydale was full. The only illumination for blocks. A single figure walked along the darkened streets. A young woman. A chill wind blew her blonde hair back. Passing the entrance to a shaded alley she paused. A cat meowed, breaking the strange quiet. Tara knelt reaching out with outstretched fingers, "Here kitty, kitty." she whispered gently. A black tom ran from the alley and practically flew into her arms. "Ohh, it's o'kay," Tara said, petting the frantic and struggling cat. "They won't hurt you, they want me." Tara finished, opening her arms so the cat could jump lightly to the ground. She stepped into the alley.
The two vampires finished their feeding, dropping the body of the young girl to the ground. "Ahh, Victor, lunch." One said as he rose wiping and then licking blood from his fingertips. His partner nodded leering openly at Tara. "But maybe we can have a little fun before we take her." The first vampire laughed.
"You may find, my friend, that you have bitten off more than you can chew." Tara replied calmly. The vampires glanced at her curiously. "You speak Russian?", one asked incredulously. Tara shrugged nonchalantly but inside she was just as confused as he was. "I do now.", she replied. Tara stepped back as the two vampires rushed at her simultaneously. Leaping straight up into the air she executed a jumping double front kick. The soles of her sneaker clad feet connecting with the nose of one vampire and the jaw of the other. As the vampires fell onto their backs, Tara landed lightly on her feet. Tara had little time to register the shock she felt at her actions. One vampire was already getting shakily to his feet. His broken nose bleeding profusely. Snarling, fangs bared he rushed at Tara, swinging a wide roundhouse punch at Tara. A punch that would have hurt if it had connected but Tara ducked. Spinning with her left leg outstretched she swept the vampire's legs out from under him. Landing once again on his back, the vampire howled in agony. A howl that was silenced as a stake was stabbed into his chest. "That's one." Tara thought. Tara glanced up, the second vampire was on his feet gingerly fingering his jaw and spitting out several bloodied teeth. "You, bitch!!!" he yelled. "I just had them capped." Tara stood, in the same motion she threw her stake underhanded at the vampire. The vampire leaned sideways, easily catching the stake before it sailed past. "Ha," he laughed. Turning towards her but Tara was no longer on the ground she had leapt forward once the vampire had taken his eyes off her. Her leg extended. Her jumping side kick catching the vampire full in the face as her kick connected Tara twisted in midair bringing her other leg up, around and down in an axe kick. The heel of her foot catching the vampire on his jaw once again. Hit twice the vampire crumpled to the ground barely but still conscious. Tara landed on her feet. Turning toward the downed the vampire, Tara strolled toward him. There was something dark and cold in her eyes now. The vampire tried to crawl weakly away as Tara approached. She kneeled down picking up her stake. She walked up to the vampire placing one foot on his chest and then kneeling down she brought the point of her stake up to his chin. The vampire's yell was cut short as Tara drove her stake into his chest. Tara rose, she placed her stake into the inside pocket of her jacket and then walked away.
Tara entered the Magic Shop, the bell above the door alerting everyone to her presence. Willow turned from what appeared to be a heated conversation with Xander and ran toward Tara.
"Tara," Willow said kissing her lightly on the forehead. "Where were you?"
Tara shrugged. "Just out for walk."
"Where to?" Xander asked. "China? It's nearly midnight."
"I..." Tara paused. She didn't remember where she'd been. "How long have I been gone?"
Xander and Willow both looked at her curiously. "You've been gone four hours, honey." Willow said gently. "Don't you..." Whatever Willow was going to say was interrupted as Giles stormed in. He was bleeding from a cut to his forehead and appeared to be very disheveled. "Spike...." Giles whispered to the three shocked faces surrounding him. "He's been captured."
One hour and several cups of coffee later. "We were investigating that den of vampires trying to gauge their threat assessment."
"They captured Spike, they sound o'kay to me." Xander said rising from his seat at the round table.
"Xander don't..." Willow began.
"No, no, no" Xander said shaking his head. "Not this time, do you know how crazy this is. You're going to suggest that we barge into a whole den of vampires to rescue Spike. Rescue Spike." Xander laughed, then stopped abruptly turning to Willow. "Please, tell me you're joking."
"Xander, we do owe him one." Willow shook her head. "We owe him more than one, besides we can't just leave him there."
Xander sighed, "It doesn't matter what I say, you're going to do it anyway."
"Yes, it does matter, Xander." Tara replied and she glanced at Willow. "WE are going to do it anyway." Willow smiled and nodded.
Xander shook his head. "O'kay, I still think this is suicide but what do you need."
"We're going to need stakes, lots of stakes." Tara replied.
Willow turned to Tara, "You're going?"
Tara nodded walking over to one of the Shop's many weapons chests. "Why not?"
"Uhhh,I don't know," Xander replied shrugging mockingly. "The little fact that you've forgotten where you were for four hours."
"Besides we need some one to look after Giles." Willow said glancing at Giles pointedly.
"We do?" Giles asked.
"Yeah, he looks o'kay to me." Tara replied, pulling out a pair of 26" black oak escrima sticks from the weapons chest. Twirling one easily in each hand, she headed for the door. "Let's go."
"What was that?" Willow asked pointing at Tara's quickly retreating form.
"Don't look at me," Xander said grabbing a crossbow from the far wall. "She's your girlfriend."
Giles stood, wincing slightly and walked gingerly towards Willow.
"Giles." Willow whispered softly.
"I suggest we deal with one problem at time, go get Spike and we can deal with whatever is wrong with Tara later." Giles sighed tiredly. "Just look after her."
"Besides," Xander replied kneeling down to pick up a quiver of bolts. "The safest place she could be is by your side." Xander rose and held open the door. "You ready?"
"Xander, are you sure you know where we're going?" Willow asked from the passenger seat as Xander made yet another turn.
"Of course I do." Xander said confidently. "Giles said a large red warehouse, how many of those can there be in the Warehouse District."
Willow glanced out the window. "Six...now seven." Willow turned in her seat, to glance at Tara. Tara was staring curiously out the window. "Tara?"
"There used to be a Chinese restaurant here," Tara smiled, "Keiko and I met there."
"Keiko!?!" Xander and Willow said almost simultaneously.
Tara shook her head. "What?", she asked glancing from Willow to Xander.
Xander coughed, "Uhh, who's Keiko?"
"Who?" Tara asked her brow furrowed in confusion.
Willow swallowed. "Tara, do you know where we're going."
Tara glanced around. "Hey, we're in a car!!"
"Yep, big red thing with wheels," Xander nodded. "It's a car all right." Xander flinched as Willow punched his arm. "Oww, will you not do that while I'm driving."
"If you wasn't driving, I would have you hit you someplace else."
"How did I get here?" Tara asked.
"We're here!" Xander announced, bringing the car to a stop. Willow turned so she didn't see Tara's eyes flutter closed and then open again. As Xander opened his door and unbuckled his seatbelt. Willow turned back toward Tara. "Tara, are you sure you're o'kay?"
Tara grinned, in the darkness of the car's interior Willow couldn't see that smile didn't reach Tara's eyes. "I'm fine, in fact, I've never felt better."
The three of them approached the door to the warehouse. "So, you remember the plan?" Willow whispered.
Xander stared at her. "We had a plan?"
"Yes, we sneak in through a side entrance, find Spike, and...." Willow looked around. "Where's Tara?"
"Looks like she's going for the more direct approach." Xander replied, nodding at Tara, who was approaching the front door to the warehouse with a confident swagger. Xander and Willow caught up with her as she was knocking on the door. "Tara!", Willow near shouted. "What are you doing!?!"
"Well, so much for the plan." Xander said loading a bolt into his crossbow. Willow sighed turning as a rectangular block of the door was removed. "Password." A gravily voice demanded.
Willow, Xander, and Tara all shrugged. "Open sesame." Willow replied. The flap closed. "That's not the password.", the voice behind the door said gruffly. "It is now." Willow said as her eyes flashed black and there was a distant sound, like a thunderclap and her hair blew back. The door exploded inward, instantly becoming about one hundred stakes.
Tara quickly stepped forward, taking in the effects of Willow's spell in one quick glance. The warehouse had been converted into a vampire halfway house. Makeshift beds and a few tents strewn across nearly the entire floor. From the ceiling hung a dozen or so naked bodies suspended either by their ankles or wrists by rusted chains. Twenty of the vamps had been dusted instantly, pieces of the wooden door passing through two or three vamps at time with bullet-like speed. A few others were screaming in agony or cursing profusely as large splinters of wood were embedded in various other body parts.
"Watch out." Tara warned Xander and Willow,who was still slightly shaken, as two vampires rushed at them. One of them had been completely blinded splinters had destroyed his eyes. Tara jumped up grasping the doorframe and bringing her legs up almost chest high, she kicked out with both feet. Catching each vamp solidly in their faces with enough force to send them both to the ground. As soon as her feet hit the floor, Tara stepped to her left to meet three other vampires coming from that direction. Her movement also allowing Xander to come in and quickly dispatch the two vampires she had kicked to the ground.
The leading vampire threw a very telegraphed right punch at Tara. The intity, who now fully controlled Tara's movements, smiled inwardly. Lifting her leg in a left crossing kick block. As soon as her leg touched the floor and even before the vampire could cry out in pain, Tara's right front kick caught him in the stomach, as he bent over and without lowering her right leg, a roundhouse kick to the side of his face sent him sprawling to the floor. Tara turned to face the two remaining vampires both of whom staring in open mouthed astonishment at her.
"You're not the Slayer." One of them, a female, stated matter-of-factly.
Tara smiled, a smile that made the two vampires take a step back from her. "There are some things worse than Slayers."
The two vampires looked at each other, nodded once, and then charged her. Tara turned her head slightly and saw a skull lying a few feet. Pointing at it and sidestepping to her right, she brought her extended arm forward. The skull rose and flew forward straight into the chest of the female. Upon impact the skull shattered bits and pieces of bone ripped into her heart like shrapnel from a grenade. She didn't even have time to scream before she ceased to exist. The last vampire stopped it's attack and eyed Tara shrewdly. "A Sith here?" The vampire shook his head dismissively. "Impossible."
"No," Tara replied stepping calmly toward him, the fingers of her left hand curling slightly. "Simply improbale until now." And Tara smiled as the vampire began gasping for air and clawing at his throat as if to pry off choking hands. "Interesting," Darth Vyris thought. "A creature that requires no air can still be killed by the appearent lack of it."
"Tara?" Xander whispered his face registering shock and not a little fear. Xander had followed closely behind Tara and had after taking out the first vampire she had taken out had witnessed most of what followed. "What are you doing?" Tara turned a sneer of rage curling her lips. Absently flicking a rather large piece of what was once the door out from the post it was embedded in and down into the tortured vampire's chest. "Why nothing at all, Xander." Tara replied smoothly, "Everything's perfectly alright."
As Xander nodded numbly, Tara turned sensing Willow's presence moments before she appeared half carrying a battered, bruised, but still conscious Spike. "I've got him." Willow said grinning to see Tara and Xander both safe. "You o'kay?"
Xander turned then shaking his head slightly. "Uhh, yeah, yeah, everything's perfectly alright."
"Good, then can we go now," Spike said irratably. "I need a smoke, the bloody bastards took my last one."
