This is the first half of Part 52 ... I'm >hoping< to have the second half up tomorrow. But we'll see.
**Owl: And the day I actually >complain< about naked people wandering through this thread, you can bury me. Thanks for the mocha
**ExtraFlameyWT: Oh, I'll definitely be back *G* All y'all are just so damn nice, I really don't think I could stay away, even if I wanted to.
**Autumn: Oh, umm ... it's overrated? Really? HIGHLY overrated? Then, I guess .... uhhh... Damn. What Autumn said.
**jdcioffi: Oh, geeeze ... this whole thing in one day? Wow! Thank you ... sorry about the achey-ness ... but like I've said before and will say many times again ... this will SO have a happy ending. Snuggles and Kittens.
EDITED TO ADD: Oh My Heck, TX ... those are the Most Awesome Not!Smileys I have ever seen *G* And no, those .. 'drinks' are only addictive if you ... get out of control. I'm sure you'll be fine. Here, have one ...
Title: Answering Darkness Part 52a - Where Love is Given
Author: Sassette
Feedback: Can be sent to pink_overalls@yahoo.com
Summary: What the Scoobies are up to
Spoiler Warning: Up to and including "Tabula Rasa" in Season 6.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I'm just borrowing them because Season 6 angst is running high, and I want my happy ending now, dammit! So I'm writing it … but it'll be awhile until I get to that part, so bear with me (or "bare" with me if you're naughty).
Rating: PG-13.
Notes: For the purpose of this story, all events of Tabula Rasa took place exactly as shown in the series; however, no subsequent episodes will affect this piece. We're splitting from canon here, because this seems the fastest way to get a reconciliation and because I feel this is one of the possible outcomes when taking the "addiction" metaphor into account. So, I should shut the heck up now, and just get to the story, right? Right.
Answering Darkness Part 52a
Where Love is Given
By Sassette
"Buffy! Down!" Xander yelled, the slayer immediately ducking, the wild swing of a vampire passing over her head. She thrust a stake forward, dusting the vamp in front of her, then spun swinging the stake again, creating another shower of dust.
Xander backed up, cradling his cut arm to his chest, dodging out of the way of the vampire throwing punches at him. It had smelled the blood and come directly for Xander, and Buffy had been unable to intercept it, busy with three other vamps.
The vampire in front of Xander disappeared, a spray of dust falling over him. He blinked the grit out of his eyes, and looked, seeing a pale and shaky Dawn standing there with a stick of wood in her hand. His eyes widened.
"Dawn, down," he yelled, and like her sister, she ducked at his warning. Xander went flying over her head, tackling the vampire and landing on top of it, ignoring the deep cut on his arm and wrapping his hands around its throat, keeping it pinned.
Giles and Anya were faced off with three more, and Buffy went to assist them as the vampire beneath Xander snarled and thrashed.
"Xander, here," Dawn said, and Xander looked over in time to see the bit of wood Dawn had used flying towards him. He caught it easily, and frowned at its blunt point, then gave a mental shrug, pushing it into the vampires chest.
He looked up, his breathing heavy and his arm aching, blood dripping down his arm. That was the third group of vampires that had wandered in since Tara had disappeared into the Hellmouth, and with their luck, he knew there would be more.
"Anya, you should take Dawn home," Xander said slowly, bending over at the waist and breathing heavily, a painful stitch in his side. He really needed to start jogging or something, he mused, his mind wandering off on odd tangents, because it was safer than thinking about Tara being in Hell. It was safer for his raw nerves.
"I'm not leaving," Dawn said stubbornly, shaking her head. "That vamp totally would have had you if I hadn't been here."
"Maybe," Xander allowed. "But you two should head out. Take the crosses and the holy water, and stay together. Better yet, take Giles' car."
"I think … I think that may be a good idea," Giles said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes wearily. His head throbbed where he had been hit by a vampire with a rock, but he had thankfully remained conscious and was otherwise unharmed.
"Alexander Lavelle Harris," Anya said, marching up to her fiancé. "You are not allowed to die without me, do you understand? Willow's run off to release a Hell God, Tara's in Hell trying to find her and probably incinerated, The Trickster could be walking out of that Hellmouth tomorrow night, and the only thing that makes any of that remotely bearable is that I'm here with you. So there," she added, nodding her head emphatically. "I can see that you're trying to get Dawn and I to safety, and we won't have it. Will we, Dawn?"
"I, umm … I think I'll pass on they dying part," Dawn said, swallowing heavily and looking around at everyone with wide eyes. "But Anya's right. We're staying. And, ummm … Tara's not really incinerated, is she?"
"I'm sure she's fine," Buffy said confidently, then her voice gentled. "But Dawn, I need to know that you're safe."
"And I need to know that you're safe," Dawn replied, her tone clipped. "What's the difference?"
"I'm older. I'm supposed to take care of you," Buffy began, only to be interrupted by her sister.
"Well, maybe I'm sick and tired of letting people make sacrifices for me, did you ever think of that?" Dawn demanded, her chin thrust out stubbornly and her arms crossed over her chest. "And why should you care if I'm safe or not? You got along fine without me before I existed."
"Dawn, don't say that," Buffy said, her voice low. "Don't you dare even think it."
"That's … that's not what I meant," Dawn said, her voice softening when she saw the real hurt in Buffy's eyes. The idea that Dawn believed Buffy didn't love her was a sore one with the slayer, Dawn knew, and she honestly hadn't meant to imply that. "I'm saying everything all wrong," she said, her voice frustrated.
"The what are you trying to say?" Buffy said sharply. "That I'd be better off without you? You're my sister and I love you. I can't even begin to tell you what it would do to me to see you hurt."
"I just mean that I'm the one who was still around when you were … gone, and I know how much that sucks. Do you think that didn't hurt me? So if I can do anything to help at all, I need to," she pleaded softly. "And I promise, I'll do what I just did … I'll hide behind those rocks, and I'll stay right there unless someone's about to get eaten," she promised, crossing her heart for effect.
A wry smile crossed Buffy's face as she looked at her sister. She remembered when she was fifteen, and had first learned of vampires. She hadn't handled it with nearly anything resembling the grace and strength that Dawn was displaying. Of course, Dawn had been aware of them much longer than she had at the time.
"Buffy, you were fighting when you were my age," Dawn added, hoping to press her point.
"I'm the Slayer. Super-powers, remember?" Buffy said, though Dawn could tell she was crumbling.
"Yeah, but I could get vamped on the way home," Dawn went on. "This way, at least you'll know. At least you'll have a chance to do something. And Xander and Willow were only a little older than me when they started fighting, and they didn't have superpowers."
Giles just watched all of this silently, a wave of pride washing over him. Finally, Buffy was learning. Finally, Buffy was standing on her own two feet, and not passing on her role as Dawn's guardian. Even so, it was a bittersweet feeling as he watched a bleak understanding enter Buffy's eyes.
It was very hard, he had learned, to realize that children grow up. He had felt it at each milestone Buffy passed in her life, and he felt it now as Buffy took responsibility for her sister, even though that was what he wanted for Buffy. Very difficult indeed, he mused, to see the child become the parent, and no longer need advice.
And it was a lesson Buffy was learning as she looked at her determined sister. She couldn't keep Dawn safe from all the evils in the world - not and expect Dawn to grow. She had to learn to stand on her own two feet, even as they all did.
Buffy would have to let Dawn start making her own decisions.
"Behind the rocks - the >whole< time," Buffy said sternly. "Unless someone is about to get eaten. And when I say about to get eaten, I don't mean three feet away and walking. Next time, you wait until the vampire's teeth are moving towards Xander's throat, okay?"
"Hey!" Xander protested automatically, before his brain processed the thought. "Umm… what Buffy said. No risking yourself until the very last second," he said, looking sternly at Dawn.
"All right," Dawn said with a nod. "But if those teeth get anywhere near a throat, I'm there."
"She is >so< your sister," Xander said with a little half-smile. His life was strange, in a way, because he knew things that most people couldn't handle. Vampires, demons, Hellmouths. All of it - it was all something most people would run screaming away from. And it constantly amazed him that he was blessed with knowing these people - these brave souls - and was allowed to fight at their side.
"Take the holy water with you. You can throw them," Anya said, nodding cheerfully.
"But only if you see fangs," Xander reiterated. "Don't call attention to yourself."
"Got it," Dawn said with a grin, picking up the little vials.
"We'll have to start the Scooby lessons soon," Xander said, winking at Dawn and earning a grin. "All the little tricks of the trade. The best places to hide, the best way to run away, the -"
"Best place to buy donuts?" Buffy asked with an unrepentant grin as she needled Xander.
"And you would me to the core," Xander said, placing a hand over his chest, then shaking a finger in Buffy's direction. "I'll have you know that you're not easy to feed, little missy. It takes a strong man to go fetch food for the slayer."
Buffy's retort died in her throat as her ears perked up, a noise gaining her attention. An odd feeling in her gut, familiar and unwelcome, rose up. "Incoming," she said, all levity gone from her expression, instead a cold look of determination falling over her face.
They had all talked it over, Buffy remembered, when Tara had disappeared and they had dusted the fifteen vampires. Well, she had dusted most of them, but that wasn't important. The Construct had run off as soon as it realized the fight was not in its favor, but she couldn't afford to give chase.
Anya's phone call to Angel had alerted him that Willow might be on her way, and then they had all huddled together, trying to come up with a game plan.
It had been easy for Buffy to decide, really. Willow and Tara were in Hell. The only way out was through the Hellmouth. When Willow and Tara got out of Hell - and they >would< get out, assuming Willow was even there and not LA - they would be waiting to take the girls home and make sure they were safe.
And so they stayed, defending the Hellmouth against all comers, repelling vampire after vampire who were, as it turned out, gathering together to await The Trickster.
They were doomed to disappointment and dust.
The Construct itself had returned several times, only staying long enough to know that the vampires would fail before fleeing again. Buffy wondered if it would return this time as well.
Tense and ready, Buffy watched the entryway closely, waiting for the vampires to enter. Would this be the moment one of them didn't make it? Would this fresh wave of vampires against the weary fighters overcome them? Would she fail to keep her loved ones safe?
No, of course not. She would stand strong, and they would all survive, because they had to. Willow and Tara needed them, and they wouldn't let them down. Certainly, they could guard the Hellmouth if Tara could march into Hell to save …
Willow.
Willow rushed into the room, her breathing shallow and uneven, her balance off because of the arm that was in a makeshift sling and bound to her chest.
"You don't know what's in there," Buffy heard Spike yell, and then the vampire appeared right behind Willow, wrapping an arm around her and helping her stand.
"Willow?" Buffy said, her stake falling numbly from her hand as she took in her friends appearance. There were twin dark streaks down her face, and a sheen of black sweat on her brow. Willow was clearly having difficulty breathing, and Buffy had no idea if that was due to the mad dash she had just made, or the dark magick returning.
"Buffy," Willow gasped out, inhaling deeply, then doubling over in a cough. Spike got both arms around her and kept her from falling to the floor.
Immediately, Buffy rushed over, her face falling when Willow flinched back from her touch. Dawn jumped from her hiding place, rushing over, then stopping, bringing up a hand to cover her mouth. If Willow was here, then Tara had … ?
Anya approached the teenager, seeing from the look on Dawn's face that they were wondering the same thing. She wrapped a comforting arm around Dawn's shoulders.
"It'll be okay. We'll figure it out. Just be patient," she told Dawn quietly.
"Can't touch me - not safe," Willow ground out when Buffy reached to help her again. "Tara?" she asked, as soon as she could manage to get the word past her throat. "Where's Tara?"
"We don't know that for certain," Spike said.
Xander got over his shock and made his way to the group, hovering around Willow anxiously. He wasn't too comfortable with the idea of Spike being that close to her, and he glared at the vampire.
"Wesley got a big ol' shock from it," Willow said with a frown.
"How come you can touch her?" Buffy asked at the same time, a matching frown on her face.
"Because I'm evil," Spike said, rolling his eyes as if the answer should have been obvious.
"Wesley?" Giles broke in, approaching the girl more carefully. She looked, he had to admit, bloody awful. But that was one question answered - obviously, Willow had left because the spell she and Tara had performed hadn't worked.
Willow just nodded, sucking in deep breaths of air, coughing again. "Tara … tell me where she is," she pleaded, looking at everyone's face turning away from her own.
"They're all up top. We came across some vampires, but Red here made a run for the Hellmouth. A few ran after her, so I did, too," Spike said.
"Who, exactly, is 'all'?" Buffy asked slowly, her voice equal parts hopeful and wary.
"Yeah, he's here," Spike said, nodding confirmation of Buffy's unspoken question with an unfathomable look on his face. "Angel, Wesley and Gunn are cleaning up, then they'll be here."
"So it'll be like a nice big reunion," Xander said with forced cheerfulness, clapping his hands together. "But now that we've established that, can we get Tara out of Hell?"
"Oh, God," Willow whispered, leaning heavily against Spike as the last of the strength left her legs. Spike held her up easily, but he frowned at the sudden weight, concerned by Willow's drop. "I … I didn't really think … she … I though … maybe a mistake? But she - with the … in the …?" Willow rambled, her voice quiet as she gesture weakly at the glowing yellow portal.
"She did," Buffy confirmed, her voice serious as she caught Willow's eye. She held Willow's gaze and waited until those green eyes focused on her before continuing. "But you are >not< going in there."
Buffy's words penetrated the haze that seemed to surround Willow's brain, and she snapped upright, jerking out of Spike's arms and standing tall. Her strength returned to her in a rush as the full realization of the situation hit her - Tara was in Hell, facing yet another Hell God, and Willow was the only one who could go find her. And she would … and she wouldn't be too late this time.
"Not going in?" Willow demanded, her voice low and tight. "Just who's going to stop me?"
"Willow, you can't. You can't let a Hell God out into the world," Buffy said earnestly. "We'll find another way. We'll save Tara, I swear, but you can't go in there."
Willow's anger left her, though the strength remained, and a mirthless laugh escaped her. Once that first laugh was out, she laughed again and again, her noise tearing itself from her throat.
"Oh, God, she's finally lost it," Anya whispered, earning a sharp but worried look from Dawn.
"You think I - ?" Willow laughed again, helpless to stop it.
"Oh, God!" Anya said louder, her eyes widening with realization. "The Trickster isn't after you, is he?" she asked, and Willow confirmed with a nod, unable to stop the eerie laughter.
"That's a good thing, right?" Xander asked tentatively. "Yay us! No Hell God making it out of Hell, right?"
"He's after Tara," Buffy said flatly, the color draining from her face. "He's been after Tara this whole time."
"Give the girl a teddy bear," Spike murmured, the snide comment sounding as if it came out more by rote than sincerity.
Willow shook her head, the laughter dying away, and looked up, seeing that every eye in the room was focused on her, matching expressions of wary concern on everyone's face.
"I'm okay," she said slowly, pressing her hands to her face. "I'm okay," she said again, sounding more convincing.
"I'm afraid this is going to be a problem," Giles said softly. "We have no idea how Tara got into Hell, or even if she's still alive."
"She's alive," Willow said firmly, her lips pressing together into a grim, determined line. "I'd know it if she wasn't." She walked past her friends, approaching the Hellmouth, glaring at it like it was Glory herself.
"What did she do?" Willow asked, her attention focused on the Hellmouth as she raised her hand, palm flat, just centimeters away from the glowing surface. She could feel the energy radiating from the Hellmouth, warming her skin. "What did she do?" she asked again, her voice louder and more demanding as she turned her head and glanced back.
"She, umm … she walked up," Buffy said slowly, moving to stand next to Willow. "And she, uhh, she put her hand on it," she explained. "Then she kind of pushed it in, and stopped for a bit, concentrating. After that she kind of laughed and stepped through."
"No words? No spells?" Willow asked, her gaze sharp and a furrow of concentration wrinkling her brow as she studied the Hellmouth, keeping her hand just off the surface.
"None," Buffy said, shaking her head.
"You're sure? You were close enough to know?" Willow pressed. She knew she was being short with Buffy, and rude, but she didn't have time to be nice. She had to know everything, and she had to know it now.
"Slayer hearing," Buffy said, tapping her ear with one finger. "Willow, I'm sorry," she added in a softer undertone. "I didn't know. We all thought … we all thought you were in there."
"It wasn't your fault, Buffy," Willow said, her voice softening as she looked over at her best friend. "It's what The Trickster wanted. If anything, it's my fault. I never should have run off like that. Made you all worry."
"Yeah, what's up with that?" Buffy said lightly. "We are >so< gonna' have a talk about that later. Soon as you go and get your girl."
"So you're going to let me walk into Hell?" Willow asked wryly, casting a sidelong glance Buffy's way.
"Just who's going to stop you?" Buffy said, the light banter breaking the tension and letting a feeling of hope well up in both girls.
"Willow!" Angel called, coming into the room, a stake in his hand and Wesley and Gunn right behind him. His eyes fell on Willow and Buffy standing next to the Hellmouth, and he felt a sense of relief roll over him when he realized they were both alright. Angel and Buffy looked awkwardly at each other for a moment, then they both dropped their eyes. There would be time for them to talk later.
"Do try to not run off like that again," Wesley said with a sigh, looking at the impetuous girl. She hadn't changed much in high school, in some regards - in others, he supposed she had changed a great deal.
"Did you find anything in those files?" Willow asked, turning her attention back to the Hellmouth. There had to be a way to get through. There just had to. "Anya? Do you know a way I could get through this thing?"
Wesley hesitated, wondering if Willow wanted Anya to answer first, or if he should start talking about what he had found.
"You can either open the Hellmouth completely, become a hell-creature, or hitch a ride," Anya listed off.
"Hmm…" Willow said, pondering the thought as she poked and prodded the Hellmouth. "Wesley?" she said, inviting the ex-watcher to speak.
He stepped forward, clearing his throat. "I found a few more translation errors that Rupert made," Wesley said, looking apologetically at the older man, who merely nodded wearily. Giles was well-aware that the translation of prophecies was more Wesley's field than his. "It's this part here … it seems to tell how Tara can defeat The Trickster."
"Go on," Willow said absently, seeming to barely pay attention to Wesley's words. He paused for a moment, nonplussed as it looked like Willow was ignoring him. "I said go," Willow repeated, her voice still distant, though the Scoobies all knew this tone of voice and the look on Willow's face. She was In The Zone.
They had seen it before, but they never got used to it - the way Willow seemed to not be paying attention to anything, yet she was gathering data, piecing it all together and making sense of it. As a joke, they had tested her once, everyone talking at the same time, just to see if she could take in all that information at once. She had, and it had almost been, eerie.
"She's In The Zone," Dawn whispered in awe, coming to stand next to Wesley. Once, when Willow was In The Zone, she had jokingly asked her to recite the powers of two, and Willow had started rattling off numbers all the way up to 262,144 before Dawn had burst out laughing and asked her to stop. "Whatever's going on, she's going to figure it out. Just talk - she'll hear you."
"I, ummm … yes, right," Wesley said hesitantly, then raised his voice. "It's a passage that says 'The Demon shall be reborn to her line - The Demon and The Demon's descendant shall be as one. The purity of that soul shall be hated by Him, and he will trick her into Hell. She will stand between the darkness without, and the darkness within, and only the darkness can save her.' It's … an odd phrasing," Wesley went on, "but likely significant because it is odd. Rupert had substituted 'power' for 'purity' as well as a few other words, but that's the one that struck me. Given the syntax of the sentence, 'purity' is more correct, yet 'power' makes more sense. How can a pure soul have darkness within?"
"Hitch a ride?" Willow asked, her brain switching gears at Wesley's words. She started pushing desperately against the springy surface of the Hellmouth with both hands. She could feel the surface tension of it - could feel the 'give' inside of it - but she couldn't break through it. It was like what was going on in her mind … there was something … more, here. Something that had to happen - something that would happen, that was very, very bad, and she was on the verge of figuring out what it was.
With the knowledge that there was something more to know, her need to get to Tara - fast - doubled, then tripled. The darkness within … something about … Tara's shadow, maybe? She was afraid of it, Willow knew - the phrase 'afraid of her own shadow' popped into her mind without her permission, and she pushed it away … it was irrelevant - Tara was afraid of what the darkness inside of her could do … of what it >would< do.
What would it do?
Willow pushed harder.
"Yeah. If some demon-type jumps through, you can go with it if you grab on. But you're probably going to die as soon as you get there," Anya added, her voice shaking. "So you really shouldn't try it. I mean, I know Tara is in there, but she wouldn't want you to go and get all dead to save her, and so we should figure out something else."
"I love her," Willow said simply, pushing her shoulder into the Hellmouth and grunting with the effort. "I have to try." She took a few steps back, then ran forward, hurling her shoulder into the barrier that was keeping her from going to Tara, a sense of panic welling up inside of her.
"Willow, stop it," Buffy said, grasping her arm gently. "You're not going to do any good if you hurt yourself, all right?"
Willow turned on Buffy, her eyes a little wild-looking, and her face pleading. She opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted.
"I'll go," Angel said, stepping up. "I'm a demon. You can hitch on me." He had been to Hell, he knew what it was like - and though he had hoped to never return, he would do that for Willow. Willow felt guilty, he knew, about restoring his soul, thinking the spell was a curse. But Angel knew better. It was a gift - a precious gift - and now that his unlife had a purpose and a focus - now that he had a son - he knew exactly how precious.
Buffy remained silent, her heart clenching at the idea of Angel returning to Hell, knowing that she no longer had the right to demand he stay safe - to demand he stay behind. She wasn't even sure she would exercise that right if she had it, she admitted inwardly. Not with Tara at stake - not knowing what Tara meant to Willow and Dawn.
"Vampires only count as half-demon," Anya said, shaking her head. "You can't get through the Hellmouth."
"But The Construct got out," Willow pointed out. "Isn't it weakened?" she asked, pushing harder on the Hellmouth, her whole weight behind it.
"Here," Angel said, moving to Willow's side and placing his hand carefully on the Hellmouth. Gently, he pushed his fingers in, breaking through the surface that Willow was trying so hard to penetrate.
He increased the pressure, his fingers stopping about an inch in. Shaking his head in frustration, he pushed harder, then harder still, until all of his supernatural strength was behind it.
But he couldn't break through.
"Oh, bloody hell," Spike grumbled, stalking up to the group. Roughly, he pushed Angel aside, his game face stealing over his features. "No wonder soul boy can't make it. Stand back," he growled, reaching up to the Hellmouth and pushing. He grunted as his hand broke the surface, and pushed further in, and further still, his arm in up to his elbow.
"Umm … another reason this is a bad idea," Anya said slowly. "There's fire on the other side."
"You couldn't have just forgotten to mention that part?" Xander murmured, sidling up to Anya. He watched in surprise as Spike turned his head to glare at him.
"I heard that, monkey boy," he snarled.
"Spike, you don't have to do this," Willow said, laying a hand on his arm, even as her agitation rose. Part of her didn't care that Spike wouldn't survive if he helped, but a part of her felt like it would be wrong to accept that sacrifice from the vampire. Because he had been so kind to her, in his own Spike way, and because it just seemed wrong to accept a sacrifice from someone she didn't like most of the time and had tried to kill her on several occasions, she tried to give him a graceful out. "I know we can get it open another way. The Construct could come back, or I could figure something out."
"You and me, we got something in common, Red," Spike whispered softly. "I'll get you through. You go get your bird."
With a determined look, Willow pressed against the Hellmouth, letting all of her fear and anger over the situation well up in her. She didn't want Spike's help - didn't want to be indebted to him, even though she knew that, in a way, she already was. Still, it was frustrating and it make her angry, and she was oh so scared that she would somehow be too late, and that Tara wouldn't' be all right.
All the rage at The Trickster stole through her, and she felt it building and building, the darkness rising up inside of her. Still, she couldn't quite break through.
With a growl of frustration, she punched the energy, her fist bouncing off.
"I said I'd get you through," Spike said, turning to glare at her. "Just … hang on to me, all right? Before I change my bloody mind," he added on a mutter. "I'm off my beam."
Willow glared back, her eyes darkening and shading to black, meeting Spike's demonic yellow eyes evenly. She slid her fingers along his arm, hitting the Hellmouth, still connected to Spike, and she felt a tingle shoot through her. She pressed further, her hand getting past that first barrier.
Her eyes widened as she turned and looked at the Hellmouth again, seeing her hand trapped inside. It felt kind of … Jell-o-y. She wondered idly if it would taste like lemons? Did they even make a lemon Jell-o? Maybe it should be a red Hellmouth. Or a green one.
"Mind wandering, not good," she told herself sternly, firmly locking the silly scientist in her away. Her mind had the very bad habit of wandering away from her during the most important things - and things certainly didn't get any more important than this.
"Take your hand out," she told Spike. "I think … I think I can get through now."
Spike nodded, but didn't obey, getting his other hand in, then pulling his hands apart, bending and stretching the energy of the Hellmouth until a thin crack appeared.
Willow saw her opportunity, and she stepped through, feeling the Hellmouth close up behind her.
Edited by: Sassette at: 4/24/02 11:30:18 pm
I love her determination in this part Sass. Now if only she is not too late. Oh that and she needs to kick the Tricksters ass.
