Title-Twisted part 5
Author-Magrat
Rating-R
Spoilers-Season 6 Buffy and Season 3 Angel
Twisted part 5
Willow stared listlessly out the car window lost in her own chaotic thoughts. She couldn’t believe that Tara was alive. She had tried to sense her; she had sent out her feelings but nothing. She could hear Giles and Buffy talking to one another in the front of the car. To say the last few months had been painful was too much of an understatement. Much of it she couldn’t remember. Just the blood. When she closed her eyes all she could see was blood. Tara’s blood. “It’s punishment isn’t it?”
“What?” asked Giles and Buffy as one, both of who had almost forgotten the catatonic redhead in the back of the car.
“Punishment for me because I left her body” said Willow. “It’s the only thing that makes sense”
“Will, how could that make sense?” asked Buffy. “No one deserves what has happened to Tara. She didn’t ask to be shot or have a bunch of evil lawyers take her out of…”
“Heaven” suggested Willow. “like you didn’t deserve to be either”
“This so isn’t about me” said Buffy then eyeing her best friend warily, “or you for that matter. Will, you are going to have to be strong and I don’t mean in an incinerate a lawyer type way. I mean in a don’t know what sort of state my lover is in but I’m gonna have to work real hard to care for her. We don’t know what they want her for or what condition she is in”
Willow turned away from the slayer not wanting her to see the tears that were coursing down her face; the thought of her beautiful lover going through more pain was more that she could bear.
“We’re here,” said Giles. “Buffy, did Angel say if the hotel has parking?”
“I’ll ask Cordy” said the slayer and jumped from the car.
****************
Gunn parked the car while the tired and fraught looking party from Sunnydale, sat in the hotel lobby.
Angel looked at Buffy, Willow and Giles not really sure what to say. His soul hurt for the redhead she looked so lost and alone.
Cordelia walked up behind him “It hurts to see Willow like this; doesn’t it?”
Angel looked up in surprise at his friend’s words “It does and it’s going to hurt her even more when we have to tell them how bad Wolfram and Hart really are.”
“Why do you think they want her, I mean I had the vision and I know she’s scared but I don’t understand what Wolfram and Hart want with her,” said Cordelia. “Oh well deep breath time”
Buffy narrowed her eyes the body language of her old friends not lost on her. “So what’s the deal with these lawyer’s?”
“I don’t know Buffy, why they want…your friend…Willow’s…Tara” said Angel struggling to find the right words. All I can tell you is that they are evil. Whatever they want…”
Cordy was listening to Angel but watching Willow, she looked like a lost little girl and she seemed to be hurting with every word the vampire said. The aspiring actress acted out of pure instinct. She knelt before the redhead and grabbed her hands “We’ll get her back I promise”
Willow moved forward and hugged Cordelia surprised by the feelings of warmth and healing coming from her.
Buffy stared open mouthed at the white light that was covering the two girls. “What’s going on”
“Don’t worry” said Angel “I’m not sure exactly how this works…”
“It’s not magic is it” said Buffy angrily.
“Of course not” said the vampire. “It’s like she’s healing her soul. Cordy knows Will’s problem, she would never…”
“I’m sorry,” said Buffy. “You didn’t get to know Tara but she sort of ended up holding us all together and Willow’s been just a shadow since died. If Cordy can help her it would be amazing.”
Giles who had stayed silent through the last few minutes just listening and observing thought maybe it was time to ask one important question. “What has Cordelia become, because I don’t remember her having the power to do things like this when she left Sunnydale?”
“You know she became a seer for the powers that be?” asked Angel.
“Yes but that doesn’t explain…”
“Well to keep her powers she had to choose to become part demon. She now has some powers, I’m not sure if she can truly control them but she seems to be able to help mend souls, purge them of the bad things that has happened” explained Angel.
They watched as the white light faded and Buffy was amazed to see a spark of life showing in the redheads green eyes; the first since Tara had died.
“We’ll get her back,” said Willow. “I know we will but I’m gonna have to tell her everything; everything I did. I’ll never have secrets from her again” and then turning to Angel “do we have a plan?”
**************************
Spike walked back and fore outside The Magic Box, he wanted to make his peace with the Scoobies and figured the first place he might start was here. He walked in and was surprised to see Xander and Dawn in the shop as well as Anya.
“Unless you want to be turned into dust you had better leave,” said Xander.
Spike looked at the boy with something a kin to pity. “I’ve just came to apologize”
“We don’t need your apologizes” said Xander, “Dawn do you have a stake…”
“Stop” said Anya her eyes narrowed as she sniffed the air round the vampire. “You have a soul?”
Spike looked down at his feet “I’d better go”
“You have a soul now?” asked Anya again more firmly.
“Yes. Look I just wanted to see what has happened about Tara,” said Spike.
“What do you know about Tara?” asked Dawn still looking at the vampire with open hostility.
“Hey niblet, I saw whoever took her. I told Clem to come and…”
“I don’t believe you and if it wasn’t for Cordy’s vision, if it was just your word I would have stopped Buffy, Willow and Giles from going to L.A” said Xander spitting out the words at blonde vamp.
Spike looked at Xander sharply “Why have they gone to L.A?”
“It’s none of your business,” snaps back the young man the two almost toe to toe now the hostility between them boiling.
“Stop it both of you,” said Dawn. “This does not help. Spike I don’t even know why I’m telling you this but we have found out her body has been taken by a law firm called Wolfram and Hart…”
“Wolfram and Hart, you are joking with me. They are bad, really bad; they had Darla and Dru working for them. They hate Angel, why have the taken Tara?” asked Spike.
“We don’t know. Spike where are you going?” shouted Anya as the vampire ran from the shop.
********************
Tara collapsed into an armchair feeling absolutely exhausted; she had spent the day training and being trained. A strange looking man had come in and explained how her gifts worked and also mental exercises on how to use them. It had been very tiring; he had shown her how she could read auras and what they meant. How she almost had the power to read minds and influence people.
When that was finished Lilah had came into the room with two large men who had a partially disabled vampire with them. They had chained the vamp up and Lilah had handed her a stake. She had trained her mind on the vamp and had felt the seething hatred that he felt for everything that was living. How he just wanted to break away from the chains and kill them all, but she still couldn’t do it.
She had explained to Lilah that she didn’t feel she could kill it. Her sister had shook her head and asked the blonde witch what would she do if faced with Angel, the vampire who had tried to kill her and had succeeded in killing the rest of their family. She had told Tara she wasn’t teaching her to kill vampires for pleasure but for her own protection.
Tara had still held back. Lilah had taken her hand and looked into her eyes. She had asked her to remember her dead daughter then guided her hand as she plunged the stake into the vamp’s non-beating heart.
Lilah walked into the room. “You’ve done very well today”
“T-thank you,” said Tara. “I’m tired it’s been hard work” The blonde looked at her sister trying to read her, but finding Lilah’s mind closed to her. She could sense some fear. “What are you scared of?”
“I’m not scared,” said the lawyer quickly.
“I can feel your fear,” said Tara. “So, please don’t lie to me”
“Just for you sweetie, anything could happen to you, so of course I’m worried about you,” said Lilah.
“I don’t know,” said Tara. “It feels like you’re scared of me”
“Scared of you” said Lilah. “That would never happen, you’re my sister and I love you.”
“O-okay” said Tara sighing slightly. “I’m must have been imagining things. You know I’m really tired, I think I’ll go to bed.”
“Sure sweetie, you’ll have more work to do tomorrow so it’s probably best if you have an early night,” said Lilah.
*************************
“She tried to read me,” said Lilah.
“Well you knew that would happen,” said Gavin.
“But not so quickly. She almost got through,” admitted Lilah. “She is going to be able to see straight through all of us, easily, with much more training. I don’t understand I’ve read through some of her file and although she showed some of these powers before she died, nothing to this extent.”
“I think that she probably knew how much power she had but decided not you use it because of her principles. You know how good she was,” said Gavin.
“Yeah I read she was a bit of goody two shoes before but I still think she is going to be able to see straight through us with ease” said Lilah.
“Well, you anyway” said Gavin with a smug smile on his face.
“You think you can handle her any better?” asked Lilah.
“Easily, you forget I’ve been studying her since she died. Maybe it’s better if I handle her for the next few days until you get your nerve back” said Gavin.
“There is nothing wrong with my nerves but if you think you can handle her any better that me, you’re welcome,” said Lilah. “My bet is she’ll know our plans before the end of the day”
“Do you want to put a small wager on that” countered Gavin.
“Not really, I just know she’ll see straight through you” said Lilah.
“We’ll see,” said Gavin softly to himself.
TBC
These five words in my head scream "are we having fun yet?"
Chad Kroeger