Well, this part has the major revelation - the "what if" that's different. Don't hurt me. Like I always say in my stories, have faith. Things are not always what they seem. The again, sometimes things are pretty much what they seem. It just depends on your perspective.
Bottom line - stick with me on this one. I won't ever stray too far from the characters we know and love. And love conquers all.
Oh, yeah. This update ends with a cliffhanger of sorts. Fair warning.
Thanks to all of you who have read this so far.
-BB
Title: The Truth of Deception - Part 2: A Connection Revealed
Author: blameburner
Feedback: Sure… Always a plus
Summary: AU, baby! It's a what if... what if one little thing (okay, maybe not so little) was different - what would that mean for Willow and Tara, and the rest of the Scoobies?
Spoiler Warning: S4. Everything up to "Hush" is canon. After that, this story veers off. There will be some similarities to S4, but definite differences. Basically, if it happened after "Hush" on the show, assume it
didn't happen unless I mention it specifically. Also, there may be occasional references to dialogue from later episodes, but used in a different context.
Disclaimer: Not my characters, but oh how I wish they were! Joss, blah blah, ME, blah blah.
Rating: Generally R, but some NC-17 (maybe). Just be prepared.
Pairings: W/T, of course.
Angst: Scale of 1 to 10, I'm gonna say 5 - but only cuz there's a cliffhanger.
Extra Special Disclaimer: Remember, no matter how bad it gets, my stories always have a happy ending. Have faith.
Part 2
The silence had come.
It had descended upon them in the night. Without warning. Without reason. Or at least, without a reason anyone could come up with at the moment.
Tara walked through the main campus building, searching for information. Searching for answers.
She had awoken this morning with no voice, like everyone else she had run into so far. Was everyone affected? Was everyone as trapped by the silence as she was?
Crash.Tara's head snapped around, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
It was just a bottle.The young man who had dropped it looked around apologetically. Everyone was on edge. The silence was... overwhelming.
There had to be something she could do... something...
Tara hurried out of the building, barely even disturbing the quiet.
****************************
The Scoobies sat in the stadium seating of the classroom, dry erase boards on their laps. Giles hit play on the tape recorder.
Ah, yes. Because classical music makes any presentation about organ-stealing monsters so much more pleasant, Willow thought.
Willow shared a knowing look with Buffy. Sometimes Giles was just too much. She turned her attention back to Giles' "Who are the Gentlemen" presentation.
What do they want?Willow's hand shot up like lightning. She couldn't help it. She was a big fan of class participation.
Ooo, ooo, ooo, pick me, pick me! her mind was screaming. Then she pointed to her chest.
Hearts! They want hearts!She caught Xander motioning to his chest out of the corner of her eye. "Boobies?" he mouthed. Willow rolled her eyes.
Not boobies, you big doofus. See? Look, she thought, pointing to the screen.
HeartsAnya sat munching her popcorn, wishing this presentation would hurry up and get over with. There were orgasms to be had. Just as she was about to tap Xander on the shoulder and demonstrate with suggestive hand motions exactly what she would rather be doing, Giles put up a another transparency. A very bloody, cartoonishly graphic transparency of one of the Gentlemen cutting out a victim's heart.
Ooo, Anya thought.
This is better than the graphic violence they show in movies! She smiled and settled back more comfortably in her seat.
After another five minutes, the presentation ended. Buffy would patrol, and the rest of the Scoobies... well, they would go back and... wait.
Hide is more like it, Willow thought grumpily.
Buffy patrols, and we do nothing. Well, I guess another exciting night of hiding and studying, studying and hiding.*******************************
Tara jotted down Willow's room number and took off towards Stevenson. She had a spell she thought might work, but she needed Willow.
Willow, she thought as she hurried across campus.
I barely even know her, and yet...Tara felt like she had known her forever. She already knew so much. She knew Willow was kind, loving, and good. She knew that just from those few, precious minutes at the Wicca meeting.
Tara also knew that Willow was... strong. Powerful. She had strength of will, strength of character. Tara could sense it. She could also sense... magic.
Tara suddenly found herself on the ground.
Great, Tara. Walk much? Focus, Tara. Pay attention.She was working up a good internal tirade against herself when she sensed it. Something dark. Something... evil.
Slowly she turned her head, not knowing what she would find, and yet knowing at the same time.
Then she was running.
Willow.They were coming, following her or heading towards Stevenson, she didn't know which. But it didn't matter. Willow was in Stevenson. Willow could help with the spell. Willow might be in danger.
I have to get to Willow.**************************
Knocking. No, banging. Definitely banging. Pounding, really.Willow's thoughts roused her from sleep. Groggily she raised her head off the desk.
Pounding. On my door. Not Buffy. Buffy has a key. Who's pounding? No one comes to visit me. Pounding, pounding. Wait... not on my door. Someone else's door? The Gentlemen? Or something else? Someone else? Someone in trouble?An intense sense of foreboding rushed over Willow. There was danger out there, in the hallway. She knew that. And yet... the pounding was panicked... desperate... insistent. Someone needed help. She had to help. That's what she did. That's who she was.
******************************
Tara pounded and pounded on the door.
Come on, Willow! Open up! They're coming!Her knuckles were already bruising, but she didn't care. She had to get to Willow. Willow was in danger.
They were coming.
Please, Willow! Please... oh, thank Go-Relief gave way to despair as the door opened - opened to reveal one of
them, standing there, holding a heart. Willow's heart.
Tara couldn't think, couldn't breathe.
Willow.Tara's heart was breaking. If she'd only been faster, been stronger, been smarter... but she wasn't, and now Willow was gone.
Her grief descended on her even as her survival instinct kicked in. She turned and ran, knowing that this wasn't the time to stay and fight. As much as she wanted to take them all out with her bare hands, she knew better. She would get them, though. She would get reinforcements, come back, and kill them all.
Willow's death will be avenged.****************************
Willow flung open the door and stepped out into the hallway. She looked to her right, and then...
Ow! Pain! she thought, as she crashed to the floor.
What the hell? Oh, crap!The Gentlemen. They were here.
Get up, Rosenberg! Get up and run!Willow staggered to her feet, screaming at herself in her own mind, grabbing at the woman who had crashed into her and pulling her up, too. The pain in her ankle was excruciating, and she had to fight the nausea welling up in her stomach.
She half-hopped, half-ran for the exit at the end of the hallway. Strong hands gripped her waist and propelled her through the double doors - and they didn't let go until they made their way into the laundry room.
Tara locked the door, all the while knowing it wouldn't hold
them for long.
Dammit, Tara! Think! Gotta do something... something...Tara felt an urgent tap on the shoulder and then they were running again, over to the soda machine. They pushed with all their might, but it was no use. The soda machine wouldn't budge more than a couple of inches.
Shit! It's not gonna work, Willow thought, as the pain in her ankle intensified from the exertion. She fell back against the row of washing machines, holding her ankle, wanting to scream in frustration.
Gotta do something... something...It hit her then. Magic. Magic could save them.
Well, it's way past bigger than a pencil, but...Tara finally abandoned the soda machine, knowing her physical strength wasn't going to cut it. She went to Willow, kneeling before her. Willow was up to something.
Willow calmed her mind as best as she could, and focused all her energy on the soda machine. Sweat beaded on her brow from the strain, as the machine started to twist and wobble. Then it stopped. Willow just didn't have the strength. Not alone.
In that instant, Tara knew what she had to do. She knew it as if someone had whispered the answer in her ear. She had never been very good at moving objects with her mind, but...
Willow felt them before they even touched her. She felt the energy, the power... the magic. Then she felt them, cool and long and... perfect. Tara's fingers slid gently underneath hers, slipping in between her digits, locking their hands together palm to palm. Her breath caught,
just like at the meeting.
Willow raised her eyes slowly, uncomprehendingly. A torrent of emotions, thoughts, feelings, and sensations ripped through her body. She had never felt anything like it. It was exquisite. Then green eyes met blue.
Tara met Willow's gaze and nodded almost imperceptibly, willing the redhead to understand. To feel their power. To feel them.
And then everything racing inside of Willow was reduced to one, pure feeling. Peace. Her mind was still, her heart calmed. She felt peaceful. And of that peace, she felt strength. Power. Magic.
With a single consciousness Willow and Tara whipped their heads toward the soda machine, sending it flying across the room. The machine now braced the door, and they were safe. They both stared at the door for a moment, unable to believe what they had just been able to do.
Willow looked down at their joined hands, still feeling the magic coursing between them. She felt something else, too. Something... something...
Tara glanced down, then back up and into Willow's eyes. Even though she had somehow known they could do what they did, she couldn't believe it. It took more than just power to do what they had done. It took... something. Something.
***************************
It wasn't the pounding on the door that snapped Willow back to reality - it was the absence of it. She had no idea how long they had been sitting there, hands intertwined, staring into each others eyes. It had seemed like forever, and yet not long enough.
Willow shook the thought from her head. There were big, scary monsters outside the door and the things she had just spent the last little while thinking about were not things she wanted to be thinking about. At all.
Almost reluctantly, Willow withdrew her hand from Tara's. She moved to stand, and seeing her intent, Tara rose and helped her up. Willow was glad for the support, as Tara's hands slipped to her waist, bracing her. It felt comfortable. It felt safe.
Carefully Willow hobbled to the door, Tara helping her the whole time. Willow put her ear to the door and listened for the Gentlemen. She heard nothing. Total silence. She let out a frustrated breath. She had no way of knowing whether The Gentlemen were really gone or just pretending, no way of knowing whether they were truly safe, no way of knowing when they would ever get their voices back or, indeed, if they ever would. All she really wanted to do at the moment was scream at the top of her lungs. She was sick to death of the silence. So, even knowing it was pointless, she shouted.
"Sonofabitch!" she yelled, startling herself.
Tara looked at Willow in shock. Had she just...
"Holy Hell, Batman!" Tara shouted, testing her lungs. Then she smiled. Willow beamed back at her.
Willow started to say something, but a pounding at the door surprised them both.
"Is anyone in there?!?" a male voice shouted.
"Yeah, we're in here!" Willow shouted back through the door.
"Are you alright?" the voice shouted back.
"We're fine," Willow called out, "but you're gonna have to break the door down. You don't happen to have any football players out there, do you?"
"Actually... stand back!"
Willow reached out and grasped Tara's shoulders, and the two girls made their way across the laundry room.
Bang! Bang! Bang!Three very large, very muscular football players - with an axe - barreled their way into the room. Actually, it was more like grunted, strained, and squeezed their way - they only managed to slide the soda machine and the door open about a foot-and-a-half. They popped their heads in, looking very much like the Three Stooges.
"You ladies okay?" one of the guys asked.
Tara and Willow looked at each other rather bemusedly. "Our heroes," Willow whispered in Tara's ear. The feel of Willow's breath nearly made Tara's knees gave out.
Cool it, MaClay, she thought.
The two girls hobbled over to the door and squeezed their way out. On the ground in front of the door lie a quite nasty sight. Four headless bodies - two Gentlemen and two other things - lie there, with a whole lot of green ooze.
"Did you guys do this?" Tara asked.
"Huh? Us? No way!" one of the other guys said, scrunching up his face at the disgusting pile of bodies.
"Nah, we found 'em like that," another football player said.
"Hey, you're Willow, right?" the third guy asked.
"Um, yeah?" Willow answered hesitantly. She looked at Tara, confused. She was more confused when she saw a flash of - something - cross Tara's face. It was almost like...
You're losing it, Rosenberg, she thought, changing the subject in her own mind.
"You live on my floor," the third guy said. "Want me to help you back up there?"
"Uh..." Willow hedged, looking questioningly at Tara. She didn't want the blonde to leave just yet. She had so many questions that needed answers. And there was nothing she hated more than unanswered questions. And she really, really didn't want the blonde to leave just yet.
"Y-You should g-go w-with h-h-him," Tara stuttered.
Okay, this stuttering thing is getting ridiculous. Oh, how I wish we didn't have voices again! Well, maybe not, she thought. "I-I should g-get b-back."
Before Willow could say anything, Tara turned and started down the hall. When she reached the door, she paused, glancing back at Willow. She flashed a lopsided grin at the redhead, and then looked down shyly before turning and walking out the door.
Willow's heart fluttered. It was the sweetest smile she had ever seen.
************************
"Ah, I've been expecting you," Maggie Walsh said. Her feet were propped up on her desk, next to a stack of reports. It had been one hell of a day, and she still didn't know exactly what had happened. Or how they had gotten their voices back.
"I know."
"Why didn't you report in earlier?" Walsh asked, a little perturbed at having been left out of the loop.
"I'm sorry. It was impossible for me to meet up with you without drawing attention, seeing as how my usual route into the Initiative was inaccessible without a voice."
That was true enough, Walsh realized. Whereas Riley and the others had alternate routes of entry, this agent - this very special agent - only had one. Completely secret except to the agent and Walsh, and it only had voice entry. Still, Walsh said nothing, expecting more of an explanation.
"Further, it seemed prudent for me to spend my time investigating the occurrence, rather than waste my time trying to find a way down here."
"Careful," Walsh warned. "I allow you a lot of leeway because of our history. But don't push me."
"You're right. I apologize."
Walsh nodded. "So? What did you find out about the occurrence?"
"You'll have my full report tomorrow. Unfortunately, I really don't have a clear picture of what happened, or what caused it."
"That makes two of us. Fine, just write up whatever you know. It appears the danger has passed," Walsh said. She cocked her head slightly and peered at the agent. "And what about your assignment?"
"I infiltrated the group. There was nothing really, just a bunch of girls pretending to be Wiccans."
Walsh waited. She knew the agent well enough to know she was holding something back. "There was nothing really, and yet there was something, wasn't there, Agent MaClay?"
Tara MaClay answered her mentor honestly. "Yes, there was."
*****************************
TBC with Part 3: The Fate of the World
"I feel like someone ran me down with a car, and then got out to give me a really great pair of shoes." - sassyeggsglobal