The Kitten, the Witches and the Bad Wardrobe - Willow & Tara Forever

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 Post subject: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:33 pm 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
I really shouldn't start this until I have a chapter ready to go, but I've decided to go ahead. Maybe it'll motivate me.

I'm thinking of combining my existing fics here at DCP into an omnibus that could go into the Archive. But I would like to flesh it out; add soem fragemnts, W&T sections excerpted from longer non-W&T centered fics, soem poems, etc.

What I want to do here is post that additonala amterial for verdicts, see if it should even be included or not, how each piece could be improved if it's usable, etc.

These will rpovide soem added cotnext and also help bridge the long gap between the Season 4 fics "It's in Her Kiss, That's Where It IS" and "You Can Almost Hear the Evenign Fall," and "The Opal and the Pearl" and "Honeymoon" which occur in August-September 2005 (Follwoing those come "Reach Out and Touch Soemone," "The Making of a Bridesmaid," "I Wonder, Can You Feel the June Rain?" "The Most Wonderful Afternoon," and "Old Marrieds." I think that's the full list. The current plan is not to re-post any of those here at Beta, altho I will if there's a strong request for them. Excpet for "Honeymoon," where I'll tighten upa few little words relating to continuity, I don't plan on noticeable changes to those.)

Anyway, I've a little 2-part prologue in mind and I'll post thata s soon as I have soemthing down.

Title Snapshots: A Love Story; Prologue

Overall Synopsis: A Series of Vignettes Featuring Willow and Tara from 1984 to 2037. Including Re-posts

Rating, this Chapter: PG

All non-original characters and settings are the proeprty of Mutant enemy Productions and its associates. No Compensation Is bein recieved for this story.

Chapter synopsis: Two little items showing how WIllow and Tara were meant for each other from the beginning.

I know I'll regret doing this, with only the first 4 chapters and scattered later ones typed up and almost no typing time, but I want to

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


Last edited by DaddyCatALSO on Mon Mar 21, 2011 12:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 6:36 pm 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
Okay, here's the first part of the Prologue. A slice from Tara's childhood, showing she and Willow were always destined for each other. There'll be a Willow high school portion after this, invovling the same original characters of Cutter's wife and stepdaughter, in a very different way: Timeframe February 1984:

Rebecca Maclay coughed again and stubbed out the barely burned cigarette. She smiled at her distant cousin and childhood friend Thalia Maclay-Riordan and said, "Good thing I never developed the habit; I'd have a dickens of a time quitting."

Thalia kept hers going, "You always were one of the good ones, Bec, and not just about that. You had to hear a lot less stuff growing up than I did. Then again, you do have to hear more now, don't you?"

"I'm happy, Thalia, this is what I've always known I was meant to do with my life. I'll admit sometimes I envy you breaking away but I wouldn't trade Donny and Tara for anything, and things are good enough." The son and daughter she had just mentioned were playing in the living room with Thalia's daughter Maureen while their mothers got caught up in the kitchen.

Thalia looked at the children. Seh couldn't see Dopnny but Tara and MAureen were sitting backwards on a couple of dining room chairs, their legs stuck trhough the opening in the back, kicking up and down.
"What are you two doing?" she asked with a smile.

Tara turned to her and said "Widing a horsey wide.!"


Truning back to Rebecca, Thalia said "Okay, I don't want to start any arguments, sorry," she held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers so that the fat diamond ring sparkled, " so to more pleasant things, I know you're dying to ask about this."

"Yes, give. I know how hard it's been for you two since Ben died and I need some happy news."

"Well, his name is Tim Cutter, he's a financial consultant and so good at it it's almost like magic. His hair is almost black, not quite, deep brown eyes, pale though, I gotta get him to a beach. Good in the kitchen too, loves movies, reading, snuggling, only a little bit younger, and he doesn't nag me about these," she gestured with the cigarette, 'well, not technically."

"'Not technically'?"

"No, he's worse, he kids me about it," at which Rebecca laughed," so if I don't quit in the next couple years I'll go nuts from his jokes."

"How do he and Mo get along?"

"Like a real father and daughter; they're already conspiring to do stuff behind my back," another laugh followed from that, "and she's totally excited over knowing she'll have a couple little brothers or sisters in a few years," Thalia said as she finished her smoke. "No real chance of a family resemblance; Mo has her face entirely from her father's side. But he's made us both smile again."

"God, I am so happy for you."

Their conversation continued along these lines for few mintues as the children came in from the living room. Maureen towered over her younger cousins, her true red hair, almost blazing, and mixed Irish-Ashkenazic Jewish features were easy to see.

Rebecca looked at her daughter, then at her adult relative, and shook her head, "I'm still amazed, okay, I know our family faces come in only a few standard models, but even with that it's still surprising how much Tara looks like you as a child. She'll grow into a real beauty. Of course, I'm sure Maureen will, too."

About then the kitchen door opened and a slender sandy-haired man walked in. His face quickly twisted into a scowl. He looked straight ahead and said, "Rebecca, why do I smell cigarette smoke? And why is Thalia sitting in my kitchen?"

Thalia immediately stood up and said, "I dropped by unexpectedly, Bo, just to share some good news with Rebecca, and she was kind enough to let me in. Come on, Maureen. Becca, it was great seeing you again." Rebecca just smiled nervously and gave a half-wave.

Donny sort of edged back towards the living room. Tara hugged Maureen and whispered, "Don't worry, Mo. Someday after I get bigger enough I'll have my own house and you and your mommy can come visit and play anytime you want." The red-haired girl thanked the smaller child and smiled warmly at her.

Thalia and her daughter walked to the door, passing near Bo, also a very distant cousin of hers by a different chain of relatives. She leaned toward him and whispered, "Like I said, Bo, it was my idea to come here. Becca doesn't need to hear any of your nonsense over this, and more important, Donny and Tara don't need to overhear it."

He looked sternly at her and said, "I can handle my own family Mrs. Riordan, Good day to you."

"Yes, that's always been the problem, hasn't it?" she muttered as she and her daughter left.

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


Last edited by DaddyCatALSO on Sat Nov 26, 2011 12:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 10:56 am 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
I'll be putting some more chapters up here for first look/comemnts but I think I'll also put this in the main Pens forum since most of the chapters will be new ones and since my older stuff which fits into this is way back down the board by now.

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 5:21 am 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
Second part of the prologue: Basically the two parts together are a "Willow & Tara were born to be together" thing.

Spring, 1999

Seniors Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris were sitting on a bench outside the school before classes; it was a traditionally fine morning. Junior Jared Milek walked up to them and they turned and looked at him silently and with blank expressions, knowing he had something he felt he needed to tell them.

"Hi, guys, I figured I'd do a trial run with you since you're less likely to kill me than Buffy or Giles. Sorry I Steve Urkel-ed up that demon last night."

The two older teens looked at each other, and then Xander said, "I notice you didn't mention apologizing to Faith."

"Yee-eah, I figured with her and Mr. Price the safest thing would be to let them just forget about it instead of apologizing. They might not settle for a figurative killing"

"Well, I can forgive you, Jared, we've faced worse," said Willow, and Xander sort of nodded affirmatively.

"Thanks, it means more than you might believe. That Cutter was quite an interesting guy, wasn't he? Although you sort of seemed more interested in the picture of his late family, Willow."

"Yes, I can see why losing them to demons would make him want to hunt them. Forget that his stepdaughter looked like me, and their two little girls looking like Baby Buffy and Baby Harmony, his wife; I don't think I've ever seen a woman who looked more beautiful to me. Funny, I remember how I felt, but I can't really remember what she looked like."

Jared smiled a bit and said, "I do. What a face, I mean, those eyes, so full of secrets she'd never choose to tell, and those cheekbones."

Xander said, "From the way you were talking last night, you seemed more interested in her nose."

Jared bristled a bit, "Hey, anytime I see somebody with enough up front to fit in with my own relatives, I get a lift from it. Is he staying around nay length of time?"

"Willow said, "Well, like he said, he doesn't stick around anywhere too long, but we discussed some ways of laying whatever's rising on Kingman's Bluff. And I won't tell you what they are, Nosey, so just stay home tongiht."


"Hey, like I said, there are some people I want to avoid for a couple days," and with a half-smile, Jared made his way to the school doorway.
_______________________________________________________

Just thinking, since Cutter's wife looks like Tara, so if this were filmed (HA!) she'd be played by Amber, so I've, sad to say, joined a certain club with these stories.
A not about the original characters. Cutter is basically a classic Mary Sue and so I really haven't used him much in my fics. (Just in a little S-3 "bottle" story, "No One Knows What It's Like, Behind Wood dooors.") Jared is similar, a Self-Insertion character I invented to give my own viewpoint in soem fics . He's not a true MAry Sue since he's no big, dominating hero, mostly just an observer-type with soem bumbler and a tiny little bit of helper mixed in, and appears in quite a few of my stories.)

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 12:26 pm 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
Well, I said I wasn't going to post much ehre but I just have to share the Season 5 item:
Cross-Country Cousins


Glenwood Maclay

Sunnydale Motor Inn

October 22, 2000

Dear Josh,

I know an E-1 at Cherry Point is a busy guy, but we’re overdue for a letter from you.

That said, kid bro, I wanna fill you in on my little joyride down here. I had some time off at the marina and decided to drive down to San Diego and spend a few days with Debbie while her ship is in port. We’re still jawing about it but we’re probably going to get married as soon as she gets her next shore billet, she says she can save on a gown by wearing her dress whites. You know, as happy as Mom and Dad have been, I’m so glad they decided not to rear us expecting to marry cousins like so much of the family.

Anyway, I had a little more time off than I needed just for that so I decided to stop by here to see Tara at her fancy school. Sure I wanted to see her for her birthday, but I also knew Uncle Bo and Donny were heading down too, and bringing Beth along, so I figured she could use a little support. Unbeknownst to me she already had some.

As we’ve been suspicioning, Tara’s living openly here as both a lesbian and a Wiccan , and she’s the happiest I can ever recall seeing her. Her girlfriend and fellow witch Willow Rosenberg is cute as a shoe button, built like a prize whippet, and to hear Tara tell it the greatest computer whiz outside Silicon Valley and potentially a scary powerful spell-caster.

From keeping company with willow, Tara’s found herself dropped right into a bunch of friends Willow already had. Her oldest friend is a fellow name of Xander Harris who works construction, a working guy like us, pretty near. His girlfriend Anya is a nice gal but she sometimes talks a bit peculiar.

Anya works in a store called the Magic Box where the gang hangs out a lot. It’s owned by Rupert Giles, a stuffy but friendly English feller who used to be their high school librarian. Willow told me the school blowed up real good one day and he had to go into your private sectors, so since he knew a lot about magic he bought the store. I got the feeling he’s sort of a wise old dad for all of ‘em, kinda like a headmaster in a really old English movie.

Willow’s best friend and college roommate is Buffy Summers, who’s pretty and big-city stylish enough to be a make-up model. That gal is short as a blink and skinny as a promise, but a great gymnast and faster and stronger than any black bear I ever did see. Turns out she’s some kind of super-hero or something who fights demons, which goes a far piece towards explaining what Tara did to the gang night before last.

Buffy’s sister Dawn is 14 but hangs out with the 20-year olds a lot. Their mom, Joyce, who I didn’t meet, is like a den mother to them all. I get the feeling Willow, Xander, and Anya, maybe not as much as Tara but enough so, were badly done by coming up.

Anyhows, I got to the Magic Box a couple minutes after the others. Tara was telling Uncle Bo she’d be pleased to have dinner with them all but I could tell she was more a’feared than anything.

After they left, Tara introduced me around and I told her I’d come down by myself and would be around a brace or two of days, and told her “I’d like to have lunch, catch up a mite, maybe you could show me the town.”

She said, “ I’d like that, Gled,” and even if she hadn’t used her baby name for me I could’ve told she was in earnest.

I had a bite myself then drove around for a while. Now I didn’t know where Tara’s dorm room was and I was pretty sure she’d be upset after dinner and figured she’d want to talk about it and thought maybe she’d be with her friends at the Magic Box. I drove past and noticed the lights were still on so I stopped figuring the latchstring was still out.

I walked in the door and Tara wasn’t there, but all hell had sure enough let out for noon inside.

I saw a big guy wearing what looked like a bad-dream idea of clown make-up trying his darndest to kill all her friends except Buffy, who I found out later was in the back room fighting two others. What made it so much worse was it seemed those rascals were invisible to all of them. But they weren’t to me so I took it in my head right off to help.

Now, I know you remember my Cruncher, that overhand right which helped me win a heap of those Police Athletic League boxing matches back home. Well sir, I ran up and dropped that on that cruel clown and if I do say so myself he felt it. So I followed it up with a bolo punch to his labanza, and gol’durn it if my left hand didn’t bounce off bruised.

I regarded him for a bit and declared, “Tough bastich, ain’t ya?” and by way of an answer the demon –I’d figured out what he was by then- struck me an open-hand blow to my chest that sure ‘nuff sent me flying across the room, just as Buffy came out the back room and joined in, without much more success. There was a fellow in a leather jacket coming in behind her.
.

I had commenced picking myself up when Tara came in the door, took the Lord’s Name in vain, and yelled “Buffy, behind you!” Then she did some kind of very quick spell that let everyone see the demon, and Buffy lit into him like a windmill in a tornado.

Boy howdy, I do vow I’ve never seen anybody fight like her. She got the best of that demon right quick and threw him towards the door.

Just then, Uncle Bo, Donny, and Beth came in and natural enough it surprised them. With the demon so big they couldn’t dodge and Bo ended up flat on his bunghole. Buffy jumped over and snapped the demon’s neck with her boot.

Anyways, Uncle Bo picked himself right up and started right in on Tara how she needed to go home with them that night, which really scared Willow.

That’s when Tara confessed she’d placed a curse on her friends so they wouldn’t see her demon side when it came out. That’s what made the clown demons invisible to them. She told them how sorry she was but Buffy and Mr. Giles were powerful het up because she could’ve gotten them all killed dead. Bo told all of them that the magic came from her demon heritage, that the family knew how to control it, and that was why she had to come with them.

Right then Willow had had enough and asked Tara flat out if she wanted to leave and Tara shook her head.

Leather-jacket decided to put in his two cents and offered to settle matters, meaning by that punching her in the nose. Soon’s I saw that I went for him but stopped when I saw him double over like he had a whacking headache. When he could talk again, he said Tara was all human, no demon in her.

(They told me later the guy’s name was Spike, he was a sure enough vampire, and some government agency had put a computer chip in his head that hurts him if he attacks any normal humans but doesn’t go off if the person has even a smidge of something else.)

Spike looked at Bo and told him how he liked his style, spinning a story to “keep the womenfolk in line.” From the looks on Bo’s and Donny’s faces, it looked like they had already ciphered that out. And you can bet your best pair of boots I was on the phone to Ma as soon’s I got back to the motel telling her that what we’d worried about for so long was a lie.

Now you’ve seen it your own self how Maclay men and respectable Maclay women get when fallen Maclay women talk back to them so Bo told Tara plain that she was coming back with them willing or not. I started to tell him, “Uncle Bo, you don’t want to mess with these folks,” but of course I got the usual “Shut up, Glenwood” back.

Well, Buffy stood in front of Tara and said they could come and take Tara but they’d have to go through Buffy, and ‘course Dawn and Giles and Xander backed her up. So, when Tara said, “Dad, just go,” Bo, Donny, and Beth backed off, but not without a few parting statements, which drowned out my saying softly, “Alright, honey-cuz!”

They did hear me after the others left when I said, “Sorry, Tara, I gotta say this out loud or I’m gonna bust. What you did to your friends wasn’t the least little bit nice.”

Willow snapped her head around and glared at me – I do not ever want to get on her bad side, and I don’t mean because of the magic, either- then said, “She knows that, Glenwood, so I think you’d better go with your family.”

“In a minute, Miz Rosenberg,” I replied, and without even a by your leave I walked right on over to Tara and said, “Hey, sprite, what I just said doesn’t mean I don’t understand why you thought you had to do it, recall I saw it happen when you were comin’ up. But I can’t say how tickled it makes me to see you so happy and strong. Ma and Pa and Josh and me, we’ve been prayin’ for you right along.”

“Thanks, Gled, I’ve sometimes been so afraid I’d wake up and find it was all a dream, but I’m not anymore, and I really hope you’ll like Willow and the gang.”

“I already do, honey-cuz.”

Something in her face told me she’d thought of something. She turned to Willow and asked, “Will, would it be okay if Glenwood comes to the party tomorrow night?”

Everybody seemed pleased with that and they gave me directions to the club where it was.

Of course Tara’s family so I couldn’t resist a little parting shot. I was pretty much through the doorway when I turned around and asked Tara, “Do you recall that joke Donny told us once about the duck, the frog, the pair of earrings, and the two empty beer bottles?”

“Yes,” she said, very slowly.

“Well, I promise that, unless you make me very mad someday, I will never repeat it to any of your friends.”

I don’t know what she threw at me; the door was closed behind me before it got to where I’d been standing.

I got to this place called The Bronze a mite early and had made acquaintance with a very pretty blonde named Harmony. She mentioned she knew the gang but wasn’t friends with them. She barely looked eighteen and was pretty silly but something about her eyes seemed very, very old.

By my watch it was about time for the party so I wasn’t surprised to see Buffy walk up and say, “Glenwood.” Harmony sure seemed surprised though, she said “Buffy!” in a yelp, jumped half-way out of her chair, and spilled most of her drink.

Buffy leaned on Harmony’s chair, put her face into the natural blonde’s personal space, and said, “Harmony, maybe you already know this is Tara’s favorite cousin. You do know what Tara means to willow, and you know Willow’s my best friend. That means you aren’t even going to think about asking him outside for a bite. Got it?”

“Got it,” Harmony answered, nervous as a jackrabbit. She got up, and I swear she said “It’s been nice talking to you, Glenwood, but I need to go find someone to eat,” and headed for the door.

Buffy said, “Glenwood, this town has a lot of dangerous things in it. Harmony can be one of them if you don’t know to watch out for her. We’re mostly set up if you want to come over,” and she led the way.

Well, the party proceeded and even though I saw it I still have trouble picturing how happy Tara was, that’s how different she looked. And I found out the gang were as good folks as I’d thought; I also met Buffy’s boyfriend Riley and some other friends the girls had made in college.

One surely strange thing did happen later. Willow and Tara were slow dancing when all of a sudden, and this is the God’s honest truth, they started levitating and soon their feet were about two feet off the ground. ‘Course, they’re witches after all, but the even stranger thing is nobody on the dance floor or anywhere else seemed to be paying attention. I couldn’t tell if this was somehow not surprising to them or if it was more that they didn’t care.

I asked Anya about it and she said, “If people in this town paid attention to everything they thought they saw, they’d never get anything done.” Like I said, she’s nice folks but something all-fired weird about her.

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


Last edited by DaddyCatALSO on Tue Aug 28, 2012 5:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2011 8:40 am 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
Benchmark

[i]The woman had walked there from the dorm, trying hard not to think about anything serious. Arriving at the campus Multicultural Fair, she had stood, looking around at the array of exhibits, made her way through until she found a bench, and sat down. Now she began to think.[i]
"Why did she take it that way ? I wasn't thinking about her leaving me for a man, I mean she had a chance to do that and she didn't.
She didn't. She told me she told him she didn't love him "that way" anymore, I'm sure she meant it. She meant it . . . about him.

Stop lying to yourself, Maclay. You know she was right. Yes, you weren't thinking about it, when you were talking to her.

But I've read the articles. I've been to the Alliance meetings, and some of the girls there have told me about playing tourist. I can't help thinking it, no matter how hard I try not to.

No woman in my position could help thinking about it. It's new for you, I can't know everything in your head, nobody can. Maybe not Oz again, but who knows with 3 billion guys out there, and would you maybe leave me just because of that thing I don't have? Even if it still worked for us otherwise?

Love...I know you love me, I feel it pouring from you whenever we're together, and it feels like it will never end, but we both know that doesn't always happen.

Am I going to push you away? Is this going to worry me so much that I'll stumble into this argument over and over?

But say I'm wrong, I hope I am. You've seen my weaknesses, Willow, and I can tell they don't matter much to you. What are your weaknesses ?

Even if you won't be leaving me becuase I'm not a man, what will you do? How much will your weaknesses matter to me?

I want to find that out, I want to be with you for so many forevers I find out everything about you. But how will I deal with the things I find out? How much will they matter to me? Will I be the one to leave you? Please Goddess no, but I can't know until it happens.

Please, Willow, get here. Whatever happens to us, I don't want it to happen today. I want us to get past this first fight. I need you too much right now, and I want us to share this wonderful afternoon like we did last year.

Oh, I feel you taking my hand. You're here at last. "

Tara turned her head. It was not Willow sitting there.

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:29 pm 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
From "Willow's Quest"

Tara was waiting in an opulently furnished chamber in a heavenly dimension whose very name is forgotten on earth. The garment she was wearing was not actually a peplos, it represented an older fashion and culture, but it was clsoe enough She had been told the ruler of the dimension wanted to see her.

A far wall of the chamber opened showing a larger, less furnished room, with the Lady Kytherea waiting on a large thronelike piece of furniture. She waved to Tara and the woman walked forward and bowed her head respectfully. The goddess gestured to a small chair and Tara sat.

Kytherea spoke to Tara in a pleasant tone of voice and asked, "You've been worried about Willow lately, haven't you?"

"Yes, my lady, since the sumemr solstice on earth, it has been very difficult to locate her. As you know, as my new responsibilites have allwoed, I'd watched her for at least a few minutes, by earth reckoning, at least every other day since I've been here. LAtely, there's seems to have been interference. Not so much as to raise an alarm, to ask others to investigate. But ti's recurring, and centered around her. The others I knew, I can usually find them," the blonde spirit did not so much conclude as wind down.

The Power smiled at Tara, "You've been such a help to us; I knew you had not come here to rest, the way your friend Buffy had in the place she went, a year before. As a guiding spirit, you've helped so many, including Buffy last summer. And i know you feel fulfilled, but, tell me, you woudln't turn downa chance to go back, take up your life again, would you?"

"My lady, you know that's not why I've been checking on her. You know how I felt about her in life, and you know better than I what she is capable of doing, for right or wrong."

"Of coruse, Tara

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


Last edited by DaddyCatALSO on Sat Oct 06, 2012 12:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 10:53 am 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
Chapter 1: Walking Away

Buffy and Willow left their room, headed for their next classes. Willow's thoughts were oddly jumbled.
"Okay, I know Buffy and Riley like each other, but should I be pushing like this? I mean, yes, the semester is almost over and he won't be her TA come spring but he is now and I can't beleive I didn't realize there'd be a conflict there. My parents are academics, how could I forget that?

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 1:13 pm 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
Excerpt from "The Admirer, Chapter 10, Table Talks"
(early spring, 2002)
I noticed Tara was in the lunch line a bit ahead of me. For some reason, my mind wandered back to the first time we had tald at length.

It was May of 200, college classes were out but mine weren't, quite, when I noticed the gang at the Bronze and had been waved over. We caught up, chatted about little things, and of course, the rite of passage being sacred, Buffy and Willow gave me the usual scary stories about what I'd ben going through in the fall when I joined them on campus.

I'd met Tara before but not gotten to know her much and, as tends to happen in groups, the conversation had just gone through a phase where she and I were talking mostly to each other, and among toehr things I learned she was staying over for the summer. So, as will surprise none of you who've been reading with me so far, I got to the inevitable point I get to with most women, and asked her, So, Tara, since you've been so busy with classes, you probably don't know your way around town that well. Would you be interested in my version of a tour around all the 'sight'."

She was definitely surprised, and began a hasty reply, "Umm, I really...i..it, w-well, I can't, y-y . . . ."

I was actually getting a little worried that I'd said soemthign really worng when Willow came to her rescue, with a tiny bit of a grin, which I could tell was mainly at my expense. She took Tara's hand, kissed the back of it, and said, "She's spoken for, Jared."

My lips actually moved without a sound for a second or so, then I recovered and said, "Way to go, Wil!"

The smile got5 a little bigger, then levelled out as she looked at Buffy and Xander, both opf who were smirking at me, and said, "This is something, isn't it? I tell my closest and, I thought, most progrssive friends abotu me and Tara, and they hem and haw and I'm still not completley sure how they feel. And who gives me an unconditional positive reaction? Ronald Reagan's love child."

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 1:28 pm 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
Chapter set in summer after S-6
First part is Willow's thoughts on the palne to England, the second one is Tara trying to reach her from beyond..
Title: Two Poems

I Instead of You_


Had I been the one instead of you,
I know you wouldn't be where I am,
Your quiet mask, your tiny frauds,
Never hid that strength within.
I spoke plainly, i had the friends,
But the staunch, eternal heart,
Was always yours, my lost one.
Without your sweetness, where am I?
The gulf inside me holds,
Nothing; not even darkness is left.
And my need and rage sent me into that gray,
Now what have I become?
Something that has no place in,
Can never come to where you've gone.
Had I been the one instead of you.
You would have hurt,
You would have been strong,
You would have gone on, knowing,
I was in a better place, that my pain was done,
Your anger would have been human and true,
Not my embracing of the death which took you away.
You would have missed me and stayed true,
To yourself, and lived the rest of your life,
The course which I can no longer take,
I can never be what I would have been,
Had neither of us been taken.
And the last wish I have, not to be granted,
Would that I had been the one and not you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What I Want from You

"Be nobody's darling but mine," said the singer,
On a record my grandfather played.
Do you think that's what I want from you ?
I wonder, and it makes me afraid.
You were the power and I was the base,
In this love that we had in our time,
Our souls brought to each other the things,
To fill the gaps that we felt in our minds.
But like everyone else, we lived in a world,
Where life is often a storm,
And something found us, like it always can,
From your side, 'gainst my will, I was torn.
But I can't take the rest that now should be mine,
Your sadness is still just so great,
I know you need time, that you have to grieve,
But I worry how long you might wait.
Live for me, love for me, let yourself feel!
Touch someone that I've never known,
No truer way is there to keep it alive,
That love to each other we've shown.
Go places that we would have liked to have shared,
Please, darling, please tell me you know,
That after the love that the two of us lived,
Where you venture I always will go.
People will die, true love never does,
We've made one from two for all time,
No matter whoever 'tis touches your heart,
By your memories of me , they'll be mine.
Your crying is real, but life also goes on,
We've both always known that that's true,
For you to be happy, awake, and alive,
You know that's what I want from you !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 1:47 pm 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
This is a modified version of the "Willow section" of a sentimental piece called "Forests Made Of Stone" at the guild (it also has Hank, Ethan, Giles, and Cordelia sections- basically about recalling past loves.)


5-November 22, 2002

The pretty red-haired woman carried a large pebble, which she placed at the base of the gravestone, then communed silently for a few mintues..

Looking down, she noticed asimple bundle of flowers; she had seen a similar bunch before, on one of her many visits, but it had been too dried to see colors or details. This one was fresh, the spray around it lavendar, lilac, and jacaranda, tied with a metallic silver thread. The individual flowers were a yellow rose, a red carnation, an amaryllis, a white rose, a red rose, and she ran her fingers across them, reciting the symbolic meanings in her mind. "Friendship, admiration, beauty, purity of heart, passion. Looks like I may have some questions for someone."

Willow Rosenberg knelt in front of the gravestone, which said "Tara Jean Maclay, October 1980-May 2002. She Loved And Was Loved", contemplating her latest stone of remembrance, the ones she'd laid before the the flowers and the grass on which they lay. As always, questions flooded her mind, then gave way again to an inner silence as she sat, staring at her lover's name and listening to the wind

It seemed to her that she heard a whispering in the breeze, in the voice she would always remember.

"I love you, I always will, wherever we are, and I'll always be glad for every day you have, for every moment you live. I tried to be strong for you, to be who you needed, because you were who I needed, and you'll always be part of the light for me here. And wherever you go, I'll be there, whoever you love, I'll love them too. Whatever strength I gave you on earth, it's yours to keep, to use, to live with. Use it. Live for me. I know you can."

Willow continued to listen, but she heard only the light rustle of the wind. In a hushed voice, she said, "Tara, please don't be disappointed in me, but I don't know if I can." Without sound, tears rolled down her cheeks.

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2013 1:50 pm 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
"Preparations" (from "Willow's Quest")


("Willow's Quest" is a most likely novel-length fic which I would still like to write but won't have the opportunity; this would probably have been the first real chapter, following a prologue in which She Who Is Not To Be Named gets all honest with Willow and tells her she needs to look into the possibility of using a wish, since they know nothing else will work, to get Tara back. It would've involved all kinds of tasks and encounters with mythological beings and so on, but I really have other writing projects I should spend time on. But I have a scattered few chapters sketched out and will be including the most relevant ones here.)

Early August 2005, somewhere in the Plains States.

It was 6:30 on a Wednesday morning, and Willow had finished her projects for the middle summer session and was not scheduled for anything in the final session.

She had already laid out sheets of drawing paper with the appropriate types of magic circles drawn on them, and at the center had placed a small statue of Bes, a few relevant charms and symbols, and a wallet sized snapshot of Tara and a piece of jewelry she'd worn, when the apartment phone rang, a newly familiar number showing on the Caller ID.

Answering, Willow said, "Good morning Ms. Marquez, how's Michigan?" in a much lighter tone of voice than how she was feeling.

"It's just fine, Ms. Rosenberg, and I'm calling to tell you that I'm hoping and even praying a little that things go well for you today. I think you deserve it."

"Thank you."

"And, hey, if it does work out, and if I'm ever in town, by myself or with somebody, if you and Tara would be interested in a threesome or a foursome, just let me know."

"You know Tara and I don't play golf," Willow deadpanned, or would have if anyone had been there to see her,, raising a happy chuckle from the younger woman.

"Well, I'd better let you get back to your setting up. I just wanted to wish you the best and one more time to say thank you, for everything."

"You're welcome, and thank you back."

Hanging up the phone, Willow turned to the active phase of her preparation. Fully clothed, she walked the pattern of the connected circles, once turning to the right then again widdershins, then four more times to the right, twice sky-clad and twice dressed but barefoot. She clipped on another belt with two belt packs on it, on each side of her hips and worn a little behind, and lit candles placed in various spots near the pattern. She picked up small items she was taking as an initial offering for Bes, which she needed to present to him before she requested anything of him

Still barefoot, since she was going as a supplicant (although one pack held a folded up pair of Isotoners and the other a pair of gym socks rolled up, in case she needed either one on her quest,) she sat down at one end of the pattern and went into a meditative state.

She went through the required exercises which she had memorized and after a time found herself in a great hall, walls constructed in an Egyptian style but with little furniture and only one other person she could see, sitting on a high stool behind a pedestal with a broad top, almost a small table. There were openings in the walls, landscapes and seascapes and skies, which Willow knew opened on destinations in many different dimensions.

She approached, laid down her offerings, and bowed her head to the incredibly ugly-faced but smiling dwarf behind the pedestal; as a Jewish woman, curtsying, kneeling, or making a full incline to an ancient Egyptian deity would be hypocrisy, not reverence.

He let her that way for a bit, then spoke, "Face me, Willow Rosenberg, and state your reasons for seeking this audience."

"Lord Bes," she replied, as courtesy demanded, "I am here to beseech you for a luck wish, to mend that which is absent in my life and world."

The god's face went solemn and he asked, "And if I choose to have you earn this boon by hazarding yourself and all you have on a quest through places of challenge and danger, are you willing to undertake one, knowing that other Powers, besides those you would normally encounter in the places where the quest takes you, may interfere?"

"I am."

"Very well. I know you are familiar with the tubaad-tubaaren and I require one which is being kept under guard in a fortress on a knoll in an isolated spot of the acid swamps in the hell of Caena, and you must retrieve it. It should be needless to say you cannot proceed directly there, the only path lies through a series of destinations in various dimensions. Each site will have both its challenges and show the way to the next. Have you any questions before I send you to the starting place?"

"No, my lord."


"Then on your way," Bes said, and without his even gesturing Willow found herself lifted from the floor, then hurtling towards one of the openings in the wall.

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


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 Post subject: Re: Assembling "Snapshots"
PostPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 7:27 am 
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10. Troll Hammer

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:08 pm
Posts: 1163
Topics: 1
Location: Easton PA
Chapter Notes: Okay, again I'm jumping from the start of a story arc to the end. (Unlike "Willow's Quest," which I would have enjoyed writing if it had been a practical thing, this "Mephistopheles Arc" is not. But it does serve to get from "early Season 8 with some people resurrected" to my actual "Children Of the 'Dale" 'verse, so it had a purpose, despite the rather weak ending to this chapter. Somewhere on the 'net, there's a story where Buffy says yes, but that is just a draft I posted to meet a contest deadline)

About the pregnancies, I know magic conception has been done before at Pens, and done much better than this, and I apologize for stealing the idea. My original plan was to have the pregnancies being ordinary in-vitro, but that's an expensive and time-consuming process that couldn't fit into W&T's lives at this point. Then I later had the idea of having Kalbu's wish reaching into the past for sperm from William the Bloody Awful Poet, drawing an egg from Tara & implanting the result in Willow, until a couple friends at another website pointed out that would be the moral equivalent of either 3 or 4 rapes, and I don't write rape fics. So, here goes.

Speaking of Kalbu, I was going for brave and strong & a good fighter but still cute. If he comes out more Jar-Jar instead, again I apologize.




Two and a half months after, near the reconstructed Sunnydale



"It's not really a short walk to the other cave, and Cordelia can't keep up on a run with Satsu's squad and me, and then we have to climb down a way and get through the woods. The portal will start to open and the Forerunner come in around sunrise, so we'll need to leave here before 4AM, I mean 0400, Wes," said Buffy.



"Just as I was thinking, do that. Alright, let's work on positions. I'll be in overall command, and leading the frontal attack on the pit, along with Angel, Spike, Gunn, Fred, Prince Radhu, his bear braves and monkey fighters, Andrew, and Jonathan.



"Faith will lead the Slayers and field ops from Nigel's team, followed by Xander, Willow, Harmony, Anya, and Tara, in a flank attack through the left entrance.



"Sam's commandos and K's band of Slayers will stand as reserve for either group as needed.



"The goal is to defeat the rakshasa and the lesser demons, and both the rakshasa Lord Nilban and Mephistopheles need to be neutralized. Try to capture them, and do not harm Giles if possible, but Mephistopheles will not hesitate to risk him."



At this, Jenny spoke up, "Wesley, you left one thing out. I'm also coming in behind Faith's group. Do not try to stop me, Rupert is still my husband, and if it risks the baby, so be it." Her face was stern as a gorgon's. One of the bear braves, standing guard just inside the tent , looked at her.



"I wouldn't," the former Watcher said simply.



Willow chimed in, "Speaking of Giles, Tara and I want to try something, but we need to be secure and safe and right near him to do it. We want to try to exorcise Mephistopheles with the last passage of the Susamna Ritual."



Andrew broke in with, "Are you sure it's come to that?" Wes's expression showed he was thinking the same thing while Jonathan just looked more worried than he already was.



Tara answered him. "Everyone here who can has already tried so many exorcism and deliverance rituals already. Sometimes Mephisto shrugged them off, sometimes they budged him a little, but nothing has worked. We really think there's no other choice now."



Jenny looked at them, still stone-faced, "You do know what the side-effect of the Susamna is, I hope. If it fails, and you know it has sometimes, that's it. No matter what else we find afterwards will never, can never work. However he is after the Susamna is permanent."



Tara walked closer and said "Jenny, I know we didn't interact much in the afterlife and didn't really meet until September, but I think we can understand each other



"It's been almost three months; it's time we knew if we'll ever be getting him back. Mephistopheles is just too powerful, too evil, and too alien; loose or captured, he can't be allowed to remain." The women looked at each other for a long-seeing but brief-seeming moment. Then Jenny's face became more animated, but still fearful.



There were various tactical questions, also Wesley gave them specific instructions on finding the wishstone, the most powerful artifact Mephistopheles had captured, then the group broke up to get what rest they could.



After Sundown



Kalbu the bear warrior had drawn the guard assignment of passing among the tents. He passed Buffy, Spike, and Angel talking about things he couldn't understand, something about how they know they can't afford to be in the same part of the fight but he wanted to practice his English so he said to himself, "Peoples is strange." Then he passed Fred & Wesley's tent.



The man was speaking, "You're sure about this? Tonight?"



"Yes. I want us to start trying, right now. Even if it happens tonight, there'll be no way to know for a while, so we're not taking any real risk. Let's say yes to living before we have to face death again." Kalbu didn't need to follow all the language to know what was happening.



He walked by Anya and Xander's tent and could tell they were farther along the same path.



The woman was saying "Well, something tells me that we did it, already."



"That's good, and you have to survive this time. No more letting guys with sharp things sneak up behind you," he said, laughter and tears in his voice.



The guard came up to Tara and Willow's tent. Willow was speaking, "Now, before we make love, I want us to try that spell we've been discussing."



"Now? You're sure?"



"Yes. I mean, maybe it won't work, and if it does, well, I'll be closer to the front than you so I'm more likely to get , get hurt. But, we already know you'll handle that better than if I . . . if something happened to you, again. If it does, I'll need for the baby to look like you, I really will need a part of you, still here."



"Alright, I agree, and we're ready, maybe not financially but there's no other reason. And there's no risk; if we do make a conceptus, it won't implant any faster than any ordinary pregnancy."



It wasn't easy for Kalbu to think, he was only a bear, after all, but he tried to put together what he had heard. Soon, his rounds had brought him to the edge of the camp. After scanning the darkness for some seconds like a good guard will, he looked up at the stars.



Still practicing his English, he began to pray, "Hanuman, me knows I only silly bear, not smart like the Prince. But I know you smiling on us all, because bad guys these us all want stop them. But some of they peoples behind me, them wish good things for selfs. So can some of your smile be they get them? And if Kalbu needed, can I help some?" The bear brave was silent for a while, then renewed his rounds.



___________________________________________________________________________________



After the Main Battle



It took until past sundown to fully secure the caverns. Lord Nilban, along with those of the devils and rakshasa not destroyed in the fighting, needed only standard rituals to banish them.



The Mephistopheles-Giles, swollen by the power of devil mixed with human, had been bound by a potent binding which had proven effective in an earlier encounter which had been interrupted by his hirelings, then by a double ring of fighters around him. The majority of the healthy troops had fanned out in small groups to find any hidden enemies and retrieve the many magick items Mephistopheles had collected for his war.



Willow and Tara both faced the bound archdevil, Tara standing less than a full pace behind her wife ; Jenny was looking at him from the side, avoiding direct sight of her possessed husband. All three crossed their arms over their heads. The ritual is usually spoken, often shouted or screamed, but they had chosen one of the prescribed tonal settings, Willow chanting in a simple melody, Tara providing a harmony version with Jenny joining her with the second bar.



Giles screamed and the devil duke began leaving his body, shouting in agony interspersed with truly vile streams of blasphemous and scatological excoriations. As the chant reached its end, their bodies had separated and only ectoplasmic tendrils connected them - many, many tendrils. The women began the chant again with only time for a breath, very faint glows now appearing around both Willow's and Tara's hands, Wesley joined in, while Andrew, Jonathan, and even Nigel spoke the words along with them.



The connections, faded, broke one at a time, then more, then the creature was pulled free and very shortly, disappeared, driven off the earthly dimension by that most desperate of rituals, leaving behind only a circle of frost.



The power bracelets Giles had been wearing dropped off his now normal-sized arms, and he himself slumped and fell forward, taking Jenny along as she ran up and grabbed him. Willow, Tara, and surprisingly, Harmony, helped Giles and Jenny back to their feet, while Watcher Nigel scooped up the power bracelets and slipped them into the side pockets of his blazer. Coincidentally, Willow and Tara's commitment bracelets, which they had placed in Tara's belt pouch for safekeeping during the fight, also slipped out and fell to the floor. Harmony heard them fall but didn't really notice at the moment. Jenny led Giles off a few feet to speak of more private things.



The pile of magick items had been steadily growing when Kalbu marched in, holding the wishing crystal over his head in an ursine triumph. Wes rushed over, pulling out the warded bag designed to hold it safely, and saying "Bravo, Kalbu! That's the most dangerous artifact Mephistopheles had. Here, put it in the special bag so it'll be safe."



Kalbu shook his head a bit and said, "I help!"



"Yes, yes, you've already been a big help. And the best help you can give now is to put it in the bag," Wes said, a bit feverishly but still gently, trying not to upset the simple creature.



"No, Kalbu mean I help!" and the stone glowed violet.



Immediately a small, bright, violet dot appeared on Jenny's stomach. Seconds later, similarly bright violet rings appeared around the bodies of Willow, Fred, and Anya. Then, in that order, they gradually faded out. While they were at their brightest, Kalbu casually dumped the stone into the bag, pointed around at the women and said, "Look, I help."



Wesley's expression hardened and his tone grew more stern; he couldn't help that, and asked, "Kalbu, what did you do?" Also, Xander had come up just behind Wesley and was also frowning and asking similar questions of the bear, who was obviously becoming nervous and muttering his replies.



Prince Radhu walked briskly over, got in between Kalbu "Gentlemen, please, he is one of my fighters, I will handle this," the monkey lord's usual hauteur replaced with the straightforward responsibility of a commander for his troops. He turned to Kalbu and spoke, not briefly, in their own language, then turned with a noticeable and, for him, surprisingly friendly smile. "My apologies for the confusion earlier. Ladies and gentlemen, it seems congratulations are in order. Kalbu somehow became aware of, let us say. plans all of you were making and he just used the wishing stone to make sure that they will come through for you. So, the . . . topics of which you were all speaking before now have not merely confirmation, but a very powerful boost and safeguard." The prince nodded, very slightly.



The group had little opportunity to dwell on the good news. At that moment, Willow's pocket crystal activated. She pulled it out and saw a terrified Cordelia.



"Willow, we've been back and forth all day and can't hold out anymore. Buffy's badly hurt, I'm not sure she's breathing, I can't hurt it, the Forerunner has figured out how to fight the other Slayers with half its tentacles and do the spell to complete turning the portal from pink to white with the rest. Almost half is white and . . . Things are reaching out. We could lose it all right here if we don't get help!"



Before Cordy had even finished, Tara, looking and listening over Willow's shoulder, had begun beckoning to Spike, Angel, and Faith. They gathered and the witches hurriedly explained everything, loud enough for everyone else to hear.



They moved off a short way, formed a circle, and Willow and Tara began a teleportation spell. Just then, Harmony noticed the dropped bracelets, picked them up and, without thinking, ran towards the witches to return them, and was caught in the spell.



_____________________________________________________________________________________



As a result of carrying an extra person, they appeared not on the floor of the cave but almost ten feet up. That was not a difficult fall for any of them and they easily landed safely. But it did distract them from acting immediately.



A clawed arm reached out from the Portal and grabbed Spike and threw him all the way out of the cave and up through the air, smashing into a tree trunk some hundred yards beyond the cave mouth, sliding down to be hidden behind some bushes. Angel and Faith, who stopped to grab the "Scythe," attacked the Forerunner on the side which it was using to cast the spell, distracting it. Willow joined Cordelia in throwing energy blasts at the Portal and the Things trying to come out of it. Tara ran to Buffy and knelt down to check her. Harmony set the bracelets down with her left hand, drew her enormous knife with her right, as usual from no hiding place imaginable in her clingy outfit, and began hacking at any monster limbs that came near anybody.



Tara could hear Buffy's breathing, and almost wished she hadn't when she recognized that breathing as agonal, a near-completely certain sign death would follow very soon. Not surprising- Buffy's other wounds, even the blow to the head, were mostly survivable, but her right arm and left leg barely looked like limbs anymore. The large amounts of blood which had been lost before they had arrived were too much for a human mind to think about.



Part of Tara's mind was saying that casualties were inevitable, to join the others and mourn for Buffy later. But a deeper part wouldn't allow it, not yet. She and Willow, Anya, Xander had suffered so much for their decision to bring Buffy back 4 years before, so had Dawn, even Spike as a result of it. Scenes from old movies and TV shows ghosted through Tara's mind, most clearly Magnum in a coma and Higgins telling him to return at once, and she was on the verge of ordering Buffy not to die . . . .



She breathed deeply and did what she had to do, calling on the earth and stone and life forces which, despite the recent acts by Mephistopheles to open the Portal as his back-up plan, still ruled in this space. It was fortunate they were in the midst of them and not on the second floor like Willow had been when healing her skin loss. Tara concentrated and concentrated, drawing on the part of magick for which she had a natural affinity like Willow did for spirit manipulations and attack spells, and Amy for biological transformation and minor revenge curses.



Tara kept it up as long as possible, then her strength gave out suddenly and she almost collapsed over Buffy but stopped herself and checked the results. Buffy's breathing was easier, if by no means good, the largest wounds were no longer bleeding and Tara could sense the Slayer had even regenerated some blood volume. With a great deal of luck, it would last long enough to get Buffy to an emergency room, so Tara turned to the battle, Buffy's blood still on her hands.



She saw Willow had switched from driving things back to trying to close the Portal, and had had some slight success, despite the creatures who were still trying to exit. Looking at the Forerunner, she saw some severe fresh wounds next to some older, half-healed ones. "So, Buffy, got in a few licks, and Faith has followed up, and it looks like it's slowing down," partly from looking at the creature itself, partly from seeing her friends and colleagues pushing closer to it and hitting more. Turning, Tara began to help Willow with the closing; they made progress, but not much, even after she took Willow's right hand in her left, transferring some of Buffy's blood.



A bolt of force came from the Portal, knocking both back a couple paces. Faith noticed and spun around (she said later she didn't know what made her think to do this,) held out the "Scythe" with her hands in the middle and yelled, "Grab on, witches." Willow grabbed with her left hand, Tara with both, Buffy's blood mixing with ichor from the Forerunner, while Cordy held back, since she knew what was happening.



Even before she let go of the shaft, Tara's hands had begun glowing blue, "Hmm, been a long while since that happened," she said to herself, then took in a sharp breath when she saw her wife, outlined in a white glow which was rapidly spreading over her body and changing her hair.



They faced the Portal again, not needing to touch hands for their brilliant auras to coalesce. They shot forth a single bolt, half white, half blue, which picked the Forerunner up right off the cave floor, sent it back through the Portal, and closed that in a blast of pink radiant backwash which filled the cave, then disappeared in two seconds.



The still-newlyweds fell down as their glows gradually faded, both chuckling. Willow said, "That was, was . . . ." and Tara finished, "I know, nifty."



Spike ran into the cave three seconds later, in a full burst of vampiric speed, shouting "Let me get my hands on . . . hey, where are the bad guys?" He looked briefly at Harmony and Angel and asked, "Bloody hell, what happened to you two? Helluva time for me to go tree-climbing . . . Buffy!" at last noticing the fallen Slayer, and leaping towards her.



Tara shouted at him, "Spike, she needs an ER, Willow is too drained to fly right now, and there's no cellphone reception in here or right outside. How do we get her to a chopper in time?"



The blond vampire almost shouted, "I can get her there a lot faster," turned and picked up Buffy, murmured, "I guess it was meant to be this way, pet" and took off full speed, jumping obstacles.



The center of conversation switched to Angel and Harmony; they quickly came to the conclusion that it was the radiance from the closing of the Portal that had returned them to being alive. The conversation tended mainly in the direction of compliments until Cordelia looked Angel in the eye and said, "You need to ask her first." He blinked and she continued, "I know Buffy will make it. That's not higher-power stuff, just, in my heart I know she'll pull through. If you end up with me, or Nina, or anybody without at least asking Buffy first, you'll regret it."



That conversation transmuted gradually into a question of what they were going to do that night, as everyone was too tired to climb out, even the Slayers. They hadn't brought bedrolls, food beyond a very small number of granola bars and breath mints, or other supplies except drinking water. Eventually it was decided they'd rest for 2 or 3 hours, sleep if they could, then try to climb.



Unselfishly, Willow and Tara allowed the conversation to finish up before Willow proudly told the Slayer group "I'm pregnant!" Tara backing her up with a grin. So the rest period was delayed again.

_________________
Snapshots:http://thekittenboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10210 a Love Story
____________________________________________________________
Kim: (breaks off the kissing) I l... (Sue stops her with a hand)
Sue: We don't talk about things like that right after, you know that, no saying those things in The Moment.
Kim: (moves the hand aside) Screw The Moment. I *love* you.


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