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Xita  Gotta love the banana.  Glad you like the fic so far, and as for the 'exchanges,' more Willow and Tara exchange to come. Enjoy! I loved this exchange : Sonya  Oooh! You get a banana 'eat me' icon. If I ever get handsomely paid for a book that I've written (who knows in the future), I'll give you a decent flying motorcycle. So better find me a literary agent and a thousand paying readers. Deal? And because I relish reading your entries here so much, I've thrown in an update for your reading pleasure. You emailed me?  Even if I didn't get to read it, the thought of it warms me.  I'll drop you a line in your slot- I mean 'mailbox' soon. See if I can milk ideas outta you.  (don't you just love these emoticons? Dandy aren't they?) Really glad you're still here. Love, Sleek FeLiNe Th0uGhTs Hi there catty person! A big chunk of update coming right up. Thanks for stoppin' by! SURFACE TENSIONby SleekPart 3Willow squeezed a pink marshmallow between her fingers. She watched, entranced, as it yielded obediently to the pressure of her thumb and forefinger. It was delightfully cushiony and easy to sink her teeth into. A tongue sneaked out of her lips as she prepared to taste the marshmallow. With small, calculated strokes, she brushed the marshmallow across her mouth as if to tantalize herself. Slowly, ever so slowly, she parted her lips and welcomed in the succulent softness of… lips. Another woman's lips. Red. Moist. Soft. And melting…melting…
Wake up, Willow.
"Don't take my marshmallow away," Willow grumbled. A petulant pout protruded from her dainty face. Her eyes were closed and her head lay heavily on Agent Sapphire's shoulder.
"As much as I think you're too cute for words right now, I'm afraid I have to wake you up. We're here Willow," Agent Sapphire gently massaged the slender nape of the redhead and carefully shook her awake.
"Wha— Where?" Willow snapped her head upright so quickly she bumped her forehead into a nose.
"Ow! Easy there."
Willow became aware that she was astride a motorcycle. Her arms were laced around a curvy body. She looked up at the source of the whiskey smooth voice.
"That's how you treat all the women you wake up next to?" the blonde's eyes glittered with merriment as she rubbed her nose with a gloved hand.
The redhead rushed to explain her behavior.
"Oh! Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean— I was eating marshmallows and then your lips came. I mean—not that I'm having naughty fantasies about your lips—though they are fantasy-worthy being all yummy, melty, softy, and lippy…I-I'm sure you'll win any lip pageant—if ever there was one…We could, we could organize one or I could just—crawl behind a rock and die now."
Willow, convinced that she was probably wearing an anaconda-sized sash that said 'Ms. Babbling Fool' right now, buried her face in her hands. Her fair skin turned into the shade of a tomato.
A gale of laughter tumbled from the blonde's throat. It was a rich, merry sound that filled Willow's ears and made her sink on the bike's seat.
"Oh Goddess! Y-you're…you're so adorable," Agent Sapphire managed to choke out between laughter. "Y-you almost made me forget we're in a life-and-death mission. Where have you been all my life?"
"Probably in the library," Willow said almost automatically. She chanced a look at the blonde. The laughter has died down but her eyes hinted that it would be awhile before she would forget Willow's babble.
But strangely, it felt all right. Willow wasn't mocked or criticized. In fact, if her eager little ears weren't deceiving her, this gorgeous, suave, renegade agent thinks that she, geeky Willow Rosenberg, was adorable. And that was a good thing in Willowbook.
Agent Sapphire dismounted from the bike and offered Willow a gloved hand. A grin shone across Willow's face as she took the blonde's hand and slid down to the ground.
Willow debated a nanosecond whether she should let the contact of fingers linger, but in that small space of hesitation the blonde's hand already slipped away. Stupid gloved hand.
"Hide Ebony," Agent Sapphire whispered. Ebony rumbled and rolled off into a grove like a weary animal.
They were standing in what appeared to be an unkempt, deserted park. Shrubs with lurid pink flowers crept everywhere. Trees loomed around them like ancient guardians—tall, gnarled and forbidding against the moonlight. Willow thought the place was perfect for people who fancy a stroll in 'Sleepy Hollow'.
"What country are we in?" Willow shivered inwardly. She had the distinct impression that trees had eyes and were watching her every move.
"We're just in the outskirts of the city. It's a perfect place for guarding spells because of the elements of nature. Come."
She's all business now. Willow thought glumly as she was led towards an empty playground in the corner of the park. The swings were rusty. The slides were moldy. The see-saws look like drift woods hinged together. The only thing that look brand, spanking new was the carousel.
But it was quite an odd carousel. Instead of the usual carnival ponies, the carousel had dragons, mermaids, sphinxes, centaurs and other mystical-looking creatures that seemed to be frozen in motion by magic. Agent Sapphire approached an ivory unicorn and spoke to its ear.
"Open up Harris, It's me."
"Tara! Long time no hear! Hate to sound like grandma, but no transmissions, no telepathic messages … You know how worried Ripper gets when you do that," the cheerful voice of a young man cackled from the unicorn's mouth.
If Willow hadn't been chased by Spitfires or ridden a flying motorcycle, she would've found the picture of the blonde woman seriously conversing with the unanimated unicorn a tad humorous.
"Well, if we weren't intercepted by Fog's balls of fire, maybe we would've stopped for tea," came the blonde's glib reply.
"We're just worried you know. Anyway, did you snag the cute redhead?"
Agent Sapphire's eyes raked casually over Willow's slim frame, from her boot-clad feet to her fiery tresses. The redhead's nose twitched not unlike a rabbit.
"Cute redhead, check. Have I snagged her? Well, maybe you can ask her that."
Willow tore her eyes away from the blonde's sexy smirk. Her heart did a swift pirouette. Cute? Did she say I'm cute? I hope she didn't mean the short, bow-legged kind of cute. Oh please let her mean that I'm yummy-cute. Or, or will-you-go-out-with-me cute.
"Hey! No flirting, Agent Sapphire. Get in here before Ripper throws a ruckus."
The carousel whirled twice to the left, and once to the right. The carousel creatures parted to reveal a path leading into a massive hub where a metal door slid open.
***
They stepped inside a cylindrical elevator and descended. There wasn't any floor buttons or any kind of design except for mirrors. The mirrors surrounded them and reproduced a hundred images of Agent Sapphires and Willows in different angles.
"These mirrors are bewitched to recognize all the members of The Unicorn. If you stepped in here without Harris informing the mirrors that I have a guest, you would probably be toast by now," a hundred Agent Sapphires turned to Willow.
"That's—comforting. I mean, if people have the propensity to chase you with lethal weapons at least you have lethal security. So what is The Unicorn? Are you guys some sort of secret magical organization?" Willow asked.
"We're the last guardians of the earth," Agent Sapphire answered simply.
Willow was going to ask another question but the elevator stopped and the door slid open.
Inside was a sprawling, dome-shaped room with sloping doors against the curved walls. She was led to a round, conference table with several swivel chairs in the middle of the otherwise empty room. Every inch of the domed ceiling was covered in intricate calligraphy. Willow recognized some of the writings as Japanese, Latin, and Egyptian but many looked so foreign she suspected they weren't even human writing.
"The lost prophecies," Agent Sapphire said, noticing what caught Willow's fascination. "And yes, some of these writings are not of this world."
The redhead's brow's shot up almost to her hairline. "How did you know what I was thinking?"
Agent Sapphire lowered her gaze and spoke to the marbled floor. "I-I can…h-hear thoughts," she said as if confessing she had a rare disease.
Like right now? You can hear me? Green eyes reached for sapphires. There is no need to be ashamed y'know. It's pretty neat. But does that mean, you know that I…you heard me thinking about you? Well, just so you know, I'm rarely naughty. And again I maintain that I never had naughty thoughts about your…lippies.
The blonde couldn't stop the giggles that seized her body. She smiled as she met Willow's gaze.
"T-thank you. For not making me feel…weird about my gift. Most people look at me as if I had two heads, or they want to test me like I'm some… c-clever chimpanzee. And about your thoughts, um, I can only hear then when they're edible—I m-mean audible enough," Agent Sapphire again ducked her head.
"Did you see that? The Apocalypse is coming. I haven't seen Tara stutter, giggle and blush in ages," a young man built like a construction worker with dark hair approached them.
"Yes, those are the natural symptoms of attraction between humans. We could deduce that Tara is attracted to the redhead. And judging from the way the redhead was intently studying Tara's mammary glands just a second ago, she must find her sexually appealing too," a slender young woman with wavy, straw-blond hair said as if she was discussing the weather.
Tara scowled at the woman but seemed not surprised by her behavior. Willow on the other hand, was not faring well. Her jaw fell a mile to the floor and her face was tinged with a furious crimson.
"Yanka, you embarrassed them," the guy poked Yanka in the ribs. "Apologize." But he too didn't look a bit remorseful at the discomfort of the two women.
"Are you an alien? 'Coz I think it's inhumanely possible to talk like that," Willow blurted out. Her eyes were fixed, green lasers on Yanka.
"No. I am a thousand and one year old justice demon," said Yanka matter-of-factly. She didn't flinch under Willow's glare at the slightest.
Tara put a pacifying hand on Willow's shoulder. She added a little pressure on her fingers and massaged Willow's right shoulder gently. Willow relaxed visibly.
"It's okay. She's still learning the rudiments of human communication but she's one of the good guys. Yanka is the representative of the Reformed Demons Association and also the Supplies and Finance Head of The Unicorn," Tara explained and cocked her head towards the young man. "Alex Harris is our Weapons Maker and the, um, receptionist."
"Hey! I prefer Head Quarters Commander," Alex lumbered forward and offered Willow a swift handshake. "I also make a mean burrito."
Willow returned Alex's good-natured smile.
"I see you've already made introductions."
Everybody turned to see a tall, bespectacled man in a charcoal-grey suit approaching them. He had a weary stride and his face didn't betray any emotion. He stopped in front of Willow. His intelligent grey eyes regarded her thoughtfully.
"Willow Rosenberg, it's an honor to meet you at last. I'm Ripper Giles."
Willow's hand was swallowed by Ripper's calloused hand.
"Uh—thanks," said Willow uncertainly.
"Have a seat, the meeting is about to start. I know you have many questions which," Ripper looked pointedly at Tara, "Agent Sapphire didn't probably have time to answer, just the same way that she didn't have time to inform any of us of her status-"
"Ripper, we were chased by spitfires. I really didn't have time to send a transmission," said Tara, exasperated.
"But I'm glad both of you are safe. That is my only concern," Ripper continued, ignoring Tara's explanation. "I can't risk losing our last Seer," he glanced at Tara then turned to Willow, "and the last Sorcerer."
Is he talking about me? Willow reached for Tara's eyes but the blonde was averting her gaze.
"Okay, let's start," Ripper gestured towards the conference table and everyone sat on the swivel chairs.
"The warrior princess isn't here yet," noted Alex.
"That's the Warrior of the People, you baffoon," a petite, sandy-blonde woman piped from behind them. She plopped down beside Yanka and regarded Willow with bright hazel eyes.
"Hey Willow. I like the jacket. My name's Joan Summers," she said as if they were already friends.
Willow looked absently at her embroidered denim jacket. She gave Joan a nervous smile. "Thanks."
Ripper cleared his throat and everybody immediately turned their attention to him.
"Good, everything is in order. Phase one is done once Ms. Rosenberg is on board, that is if she decides to join us after I explain our mission," Ripper took a slim remote control from his blazer pocket and pressed a red button. A hologram of a Unicorn sprung from the center of the table.
"The Unicorn started as a sacred order during medieval times. Its primary objective was to guard earth from supernatural evil. I myself, was trained and raised by one of the members of the Order, but he was slain when I was eighteen-years-old."
A cloaked figure appeared beside the Unicorn, and with a flash of a silver sword, the Unicorn fell to the ground.
"One by one, the members of The Unicorn were killed by an unseen force. I was sent to live and study in a university by one of the Unicorn elders, but she too, was slain. With my unusual gifts, I was employed as an agent in the Special Intelligence Unit or SIU—the government unit dealing with paranormal crimes. While I dedicated my life in protecting our country, I continued investigating the murder of my mentor and the members of The Unicorn. But instead of answers, I unearthed more questions," Ripper paused, as if interrupted by a disturbing thought.
"The first question was, who would want to slay the Order? The Unicorn created many alliances as well as enemies with beings other than the human kind. But most of them, even the other-worldly enemies, were afraid to even set foot on The Unicorn's grounds because it was protected by the most ancient, and powerful magicks. Who could be powerful enough to wipe away more than fifty fully trained warriors, seers, and sorcerers? The answer came to me five years ago when I met a Seer-Potential who was being trained at the SIU."
Everyone was now looking at Tara. She was pointedly ignoring everyone's stares.
"Tara MaClay, or Agent Sapphire as the SIU called her, was a shy, reclusive girl and like most people with the true gift of sight—was often misunderstood. Her ability to see paranormal and normal occurrences past and future was uncanny. I saw to her training personally and discovered that she had been having dreams quite similar to mine. Only hers were clearer."
A skull-like face gleamed malevolently at the center of the table.
"She saw the arrival of an exile from the future who arrived here at the Hellmouth. Apparently the Order has apprehended this being, but it overpowered them. According to the Last Unicorn Chronicles I have recently uncovered, this being's mission is to purge earth of all evil and create a perfect civilization. Seems altruistic, I know, but its methods are ruthless. This being, which I call The Perfect One, sucks human souls. It controls these soulless humans according to its will, working together until they achieve the perfect society. Its victims maintain their human form but act like automatons. They're a perfect breed of people without any human weaknesses. They don't get ill or experience emotional disturbance, and like the Perfect One, are impervious to death. They look human, but they're not. As of now 80% of the SIU and other government departments have been turned and an estimated 30% of the world population. Our civilization is being replaced and a lot of people haven't even noticed it," Ripper chuckled without mirth.
"Gathering from what I learned from the Order and my training at the SIU, I formed the new Unicorn—the last guardians of the earth—to battle the Perfect One. As you may have noticed, Yanka is a demon-"
"Justice Demon," Yanka corrected.
"Yes, my apologies. Right now I am re-establishing the Unicorn's alliances, both human and non-human to battle the Perfect One. There's a remarkable drop in the number of demons, vampires, werewolves and other creatures because of the Perfect One's cleansing process. And some of them are willing to help us. This is a battle for all living beings on earth."
"But," Willow interrupted. "How can we defeat the Perfect One if it can't be killed?"
"Funny you should ask that," Ripper surveyed Willow. His eyes were like two searchlights. Willow shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
Another figure appeared on the table. It was of a woman hovering above a crowd. Her hair billowed behind her face. Willow thought she looked familiar.
"Tara had another vision. She saw a sorcerer powerful enough to banish the Perfect One into Nothingness, the only realm where it is rendered powerless…where it won't be able to disturb the past, present, or future," Ripper pressed a button on the remote, and the hologram vanished.
"We have searched for two years for this sorcerer. And right now, after all our hard work, I could say our quest is finally over."
TBC
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bad sleek, leaving us there!!! Very suspesful!! I can't wait to see what is coming up!
And then comes the rescue TARA
more really soon.
Great start. Looking forward to more. 
Goody.
Sleek,
I just found this fic! I love it! 
! Clifhngers bad! Sensitive fingures? Can't wait to see the explintion on that one! 
I love te way you portray 
and 
and the rest of them. I like the way that you change up the names too. 
at: 8/7/03 5:18 pm