Season Six - The Rising Darkness (ep 4 now up)

[LostWithoutTara]

Hello to all Kittens!



This fic has come about following the collected thoughts of a large number of contributors on the 'Season Six - Kitten Rewrite' thread.



This fic is going to be written episodically by a number of authors and this particular post will detail who has written each chapter. All the events take place following Buffy's death in 'The Gift'.



6.01 - 'Starting Over' - Written by LostWithoutTara

6.02 - 'Carrion' - Written by Justin

6.03 - 'Falling' - Written by LostWithoutTara

6.04 - 'Reu Nu Pert Em Hru' - Written by Justin

Edited by: LostWithoutTara at: 12/20/03 1:13 pm

[LostWithoutTara]

• Season Six - The Rising Darkness: Episode One - 'Starting Over'

• Author of this part: LostWithoutTara

• Email address: smashed_wrecked@hotmail.com

• Feedback: Would be wonderful

• Distribution: Just here, please.

• Spoilers: Up to and including 'The Gift'

• Rating: PG-13 - although it may rise

• Pairing: W/T, X/A, B/S

• Disclaimer: Joss and ME own all characters. This part contains an extract from the Michelle Branch track 'All You Wanted' written by Michelle Branch, so she gets the credit for that.

• Special Thanks - darkmagicwillow and justin for your thoughtful and insightful betaing.





Season Six – Episode One



‘Starting Again’



Willow paced across the grass, which was slick with moisture from the previous day’s rainstorm. She glanced towards the night sky, the stretching blackness interrupted only by a thin crescent moon glowing an eerie white and a few stars dotted around the dark landscape. She could just about make out Orion the Hunter, the Plough, and the Big Pineapple. The first two constellations she had learnt through vigorous study of astronomy books during her nerd days, the other… was special. Tara had taught her that one while they lay snuggled together on the dorm rooftop, happy and safe, before the world had shattered into a million pieces.



Inhaling sharply, she turned her head to check on the others, following her with grim looks of determination etched upon their tired, and in some cases, bruised and bloody faces. Thankfully, this was their last stop for the evening – Shady Hill cemetery.



Patrol was harder than Willow had imagined. Despite the number of times she’d aided Buffy, and her own magical power, Willow was not the Slayer. She wasn’t supposed to do this, none of them were.



But they had to. Sunnydale was still on the Hellmouth, and the hordes of monsters that swarmed to it sadly lacked the inclination to leave a group of friends to grieve for their loss. But Buffy was dead. They’d taken her lifeless body after she’d thrown herself off the tower to stop Glory and save Dawn… and they’d buried it. The body was cold, in the ground, sealed within a wooden prison.



However, there was one question that Willow was terrified to think about – they had Buffy’s body, but what of her soul? Buffy’s death was due to supernatural energy, not a broken neck or vampire bite. There had been no marks on her skin, no blood. She’d looked as though she was simply sleeping, but she was gone.



And her manner of death meant they couldn’t be certain what had happened to her. What if Buffy was undergoing eternal torment?



Tears stung Willow’s eyes. She had to be strong for everyone, and grief was not an acceptable part of that. Of course she cried, but the only person she would allow to witness her grief was Tara, safe in the knowledge that Tara would gently hold her, wrap her in her warm embrace until the sobbing slowed.



Sometimes, she felt she could communicate more with Tara in those moments of silence than she could in a thousand words. Despite her sadness, one thing brought her hope above all else: she was going to bring Buffy back.



“Willow!” Tara’s voice sliced through the air, tearing Willow from the sanctuary of her thoughts. The warning came too late and the vampire’s fist collided with her jaw, sending a harsh jolt of pain searing through her face. She fell backwards, flat on her back, doubtlessly staining her jeans on the muddy terrain.



Upon seeing one of their own go down, the other Scoobies were galvanised into action, surrounding the vampire. Anya and Xander pulled out crosses and thrust them into its face. The vampire hissed in revulsion, its demonic visage twisting into an expression of pain. It recoiled, stumbling back into the path of the blonde, who deftly drove a stake through its heart, the wood sliding through flesh with a nasty squelching sound. The death cry emerged from the vampire’s dissipating chest, and within a second where was once stood a man was now a pile of dust. Willow looked towards the woman. Buffy-bot stood there, proudly holding her stake, flashing them a big smile. It looked so real… it could almost be Buffy.



“Are you okay?” Tara reached a hand out to Willow and helped her to her feet. The moonlight reflected off Tara’s hair, rendering it an ethereal shade of silver. Her normally calm blue eyes were clouded with anxiety, something that they were experiencing far too much of these days. Willow wiped the back of her jeans with her hand, blushing at looking like such a fool in front of the gang. One stupid vampire, and she’d been floored. That would teach her to get lost in thought again.



“I’m fine, thanks.” She flashed Tara a smile in gratitude and turned towards the others. Anya, Xander and the Buffy-bot all looked at her expectantly. Willow nervously cleared her throat, which suddenly felt as though there were a frog in it. That was not the most pleasant of images given her well-documented frog phobia, which was a bit stupid, but, Willow reasoned, if Xander could be afraid of clowns, she was entitled to her own irrational fear.



“I… I think that’s pretty much it. We’ve just got to finish up here, then we can call it a day. Or a night, even.”



Looks of relief crossed her friend’s faces. It had been a long, hard night, especially for just the five of them. Giles had been designated Dawn-watching duty, and Spike was nowhere to be found. Willow wished the vampire could help them, but since Buffy had died, he’d locked himself away, drowning his sorrows in copious quantities of alcohol.



Willow sighed exhaustedly. They’d dusted at least ten vampires between them, and even with a Slayer-robot and two witches, it was tough going. Worst of all, though, was the knowledge that tomorrow night would probably be just as hard.



*****



Willow stared at the mirror, slowly running a cleansing pad over her face, wincing as she accidentally bought it too close to a bloody gash on her forehead. The bedroom’s poor lighting highlighted the fresh bruises on her face from where the vamp had punched her. Sighing, she turned away, switching the little light off and walking towards the bed she and Tara shared. They’d moved in to the Summers’ house soon after Buffy had died – a mutual decision they had made. Willow had needed to monitor the Buffy-bot and maintain the ruse that the Slayer was alive, and Tara’s friendship and maternal affection for Dawn had provided Dawn with some much-needed stability. Dawn herself was happy with the arrangement, much preferring Willow and Tara’s presence to the possibility of ending up with her father or in foster care.



Tara sat on the side of the bed, wearing a lacy nightdress. Willow was also in her nightclothes, the soft fabric against her sore skin a relief after the constant rubbing of the garments she’d worn during patrol. Yawning, Willow raised the sheets and slid into bed, resting her aching head on a pillow. Tara moved in close beside her, pulling the covers around them, wrapping her silky arms around Willow’s waist, lovingly holding her. Willow stared into Tara’s eyes and smiled at her, feeling the warmth of Tara’s skin against her own. This was the way things were meant to be. Her one comfort, one solace from the outside world. Willow nuzzled closer to Tara, who gently ran her hand through Willow’s hair, reassuring her.



“A-Are you sure that… e-everything’s fine?”



“Yeah… everything’s fine. It’s all fine, sweetie.” Willow shut her eyes, afraid that Tara would detect the doubt behind her statement.



“You just seemed a little… distracted earlier on. During patrol, I mean.”



“Oh… I was just thinking.”



“About what?”



“Just stuff.”



“Anything you want to share?”



“It’s… it’s nothing important. My brain was just doing some overtime, that’s all.”



“Okay.” Tara paused. “Willow?”



“Mmm-hmm?”



“You know… that here, you don’t need to be brave. This is our room, and you can tell me anything. I love you, and no emotion you could feel or anything you could say would ever stop me from loving you.”



Willow opened her eyes and met Tara’s gaze. “I know. But honestly, it’s nothing important. I… I’m just a bit tired. My eyelids are making with the droopiness.”



“Sure.” Tara gently planted a kiss on her lover’s forehead and shut her eyes, content.



Willow felt guilty for lying to Tara, but she didn’t want to spoil the moment. However, she knew that sooner or later she’d have to tell everyone what she was thinking. They had to bring the Slayer back.



*****



Dawn tossed and turned, moving uncomfortably on her bed. She sat up and glanced at the alarm clock by her bed. It proclaimed the time to be half-one in the morning, in red light that flooded the room. She eased the covers back, getting out of her bed, and sighed unhappily. The light illuminated her posters, the grinning faces taking on a ghostly appearance. Yet not even her resident fantasy of Justin Timberlake dumping Britney to sweep her off her feet was able to cheer her up. That stuff just seemed so… unimportant now.



Dawn tiptoed to her bedroom door, gently pushing it open, wincing as she stubbed her toe on the doorframe as she hurried out. Slowly moving down the hall, she stopped and turned towards the bedroom. The door was open, and she could hear the steady beeping of the equipment attached to the shell lying on her sister’s bed. The Buffy-bot stared blankly, not responding to Dawn’s arrival. Dawn paced into the room, staring at the machine, the piece of robotics that was now all the family she had left. Sitting on the bed next to the Buffy-bot, Dawn wrapped its arm around her side, lying down, careful not to let the salty tears that slid down her face approach the cavity in the robot’s abdomen, lest they damage the delicate wiring that now constituted Buffy.



*****



If you want to, I can save you

I can take you away from here

So lonely inside, so busy out there,

And all you wanted was somebody who cares…



Tara reached over and turned off the radio-alarm clock, groggily rubbing her eyes. The timer read seven-thirty. She stared at it and pouted. Right now, she had the choice of getting out of bed and doing something, or snuggles with Willow. Her mind immediately turned to the choice of snuggles, but Tara forced herself to get out of bed anyway. Willow needed more rest after making with the magic last night during patrol. It worried her. Willow could handle herself, she had no doubt of that, but ever since Buffy had died Willow seemed determined to take everything upon herself. Tara decided she would help more with the spells. Anything to reduce the risk to Willow.



Tara got up and walked into the hallway, pausing to glance into the room where Buffy-bot lay, its batteries being recharged. That guy Warren had done a good job on the robot – it looked just like the real thing. She frowned as she noticed the shape lying beside the robot, curled up next to it. She stepped closer, and felt a pang of guilt when she saw that the shape was in fact Dawnie, her arm protectively placed around the robot’s chest. Tara’s throat caught. Dawnie had lost her Mom and sister in such a short time period. No one should have had to experience that. Bad things happen to good people. It was a horrifically accurate adage. Wanting to comfort the girl, Tara moved closer and softly placed her hand on Dawn’s outstretched arm. Dawn stirred at the touch and her eyes flickered open.



“Hey Dawnie.” Tara spoke softly and gently, offering Dawn her nicest smile



Dawn smiled back at her, then realised what Tara had seen, the worry evident in her voice. “I… I wasn’t doing anything.”



“No! Of course you weren’t! I didn’t mean… T-there’s nothing wrong. I just wanted to know if you were okay.”



Dawn still looked worried. “Funny… I must’ve, y’know, gone into the wrong room last night.”



Tara squeezed her arm gently. “It’s fine.”



Dawn visibly relaxed, and made eye contact with Tara for the first time in their conversation. “Thanks.”



“How about you and I go downstairs, and I make you some breakfast? I think we have some waffle mix left over, and lots of hot chocolate.”



“Cool. Can I put other stuff in the little waffle-holes?”



“Sure.” Tara grinned and placed her arm around Dawn as they left the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen.



*****



The sunlight streaming through the bedroom windows caused Willow to stir. She slowly opened her eyes, stretching her arms out to the side, expecting to feel the warmth of Tara’s body, but instead met with a big, empty space.



“Hmm? Tara?” Willow sat up and rubbed her eyes, her jaw aching dully. Sitting up, she walked to the mirror and was confronted with the image of a heavily bruised woman, ugly purple marks stretching across the side of her face. The scratch on her forehead looked similarly unpleasant.



“Great.” Willow sighed, exasperated. It was going to take a lot of makeup to conceal that. Either that, or she could use a glamour. After a moment, Willow decided that she would simply stay inside today, so she wouldn’t have to bother. It was Saturday.



Oh, no…



Willow remembered that she’d promised to help Giles out at the Magic Box in a few hours. Apparently, he had something important to tell them. As much as she wanted to hide from the world, she wouldn’t break her promise. Giles might have news on some new beastie, and as acting leader of the Scooby gang, she had to go



On top of that, Dawnie would be starting school on Monday. She’d have to arrange for Dawn to be taken there and picked up, and then there was the thought of parent’s evenings. Willow prayed that the Buffy-bot would be up to scratch. She ran her hand through her hair, trying to calm her whirling mind. First, she’d head downstairs and grab breakfast. Then she needed to check the robot to ensure it would be good for patrol tonight, and she also had to discuss ‘it’ with Tara. Resurrection… she knew Tara would be against it. When Dawn had tried to raise Joyce, Tara had been worried and upset about it. Tara had told her that she was worried about Dawn accessing such great power, but Willow felt as though there was another motive for her being so unhappy.



Right. Stop thinking, and get some breakfast.



*****



“So, got any plans for today, Dawnie?” Tara raised her coffee mug and drank the dark liquid, which was strong and bitter. She needed to get more milk and groceries. With all the pancakes she’d made for Dawn recently, the fridge was running a little low.



Dawn finished chewing and swallowed the last of her waffle, the plate still shiny from the gallon-or-so of syrup she had drowned the it in. “Um, I was gonna go over to Janice’s, have one last movie and pizza sleepover before school. Stupid learning. The monks should’ve been more considerate and given me a college education. It’d be cheaper, too.”



“Right, so you’re not doing anything at eleven? Because Giles wanted everyone to come to the Magic Box. He has a big announcement to make.”



Dawn frowned. “That sounds ominous.”



“What sounds ominous?” Willow’s voice sounded as she entered the kitchen.



“Oh, morning, sweetie.” Tara got up and hugged her. Willow flinched as Tara’s arms came into contact with some other bruises on her back. Tara stepped back, concerned. “You don’t look so good.”



“I’m just a little beat from last night. It’ll pass. Morning, Dawnie.”



Dawn flashed Willow a smile, then winced when she saw the bruise decorating the redhead’s jaw. “Ow. That looks really bad. I mean, you look fine, just… the bruise… doesn’t…”



“Don’t worry, Dawnie. I know what you mean.” A rich aroma reached into Willow’s nostrils. “Do I smell coffee?”



“Yep. Want some? You’ll have to have it without milk, though.”



“Cool.”



Tara stood and poured some coffee into another mug, passing it to Willow, who gulped it down. Tara worriedly gazed at the cut on Willow’s forehead, the dark bruises blotched on her face like a child’s random drawing on a canvas, the tiredness evident within her emerald eyes. She bit her lip hard, telling herself that tonight she would definitely take more of the magic work during patrol.



“Ooh, that’s better. Good old chemical stimulants to wake me up. Yay caffeine.”



Tara moved behind Willow and gently massaged her shoulders, slowly making circle shapes. Willow let out a soft sigh of appreciation.



“Is that nice?”



Willow nodded. “Yeah. You’re really, really good with your hands.”



Dawn smirked and bit her lip to stifle a giggle. She figured that sexual subtext jokes weren’t particularly appropriate first thing in the morning. “So Giles wants to see us at eleven?”



“Yep, eleven.”



“Okay. I’ll head upstairs and get some outdoor clothes on, then.” Dawn edged off her stool, taking her plate to the sink and giving the witches one last smile before she left, heading to the sanctuary of her room.



Willow waited until Dawn was out of earshot before she spoke. “Did you see the face Dawnie made when I said you were good with your hands? She was thinking bad thoughts.”



Tara sounded sheepish as she replied. “Well, I kinda did as well.”



Willow turned and grinned. “Vixen.” She reached up and pulled Tara’s face towards hers, their tender kiss acting as the perfect antidote to the throbbing pain she felt.



*****



Tara pulled the jeep into the closest parking space available and shut off the ignition. The sky was grey and moody – atmospheric in a creepy way. But following yesterday’s rain, any hope she had of good weather was crushed. She turned to address her two passengers. “Ready?”



Willow and Dawn nodded, obediently undoing their seatbelts and stepping out of the jeep through their respective doors. The three meandered down the street towards the Magic Box.



“So how was everything with the reprogramming?” Dawn asked anxiously. “Will Buffy be okay? I-I mean, Buffy-bot. Will she be okay?”



“She’ll be fine. I’m still trying to sort out some stuff, remove some of the… old material,” Willow wrinkled her nose in disgust at the thought of the robot’s previous purpose, “and I’m even going to try to program in some new quips, as soon as I think of any, that is.”



“That’s good,” Tara sounded in agreement. “Anything is better than that pipe thing she keeps coming out with.”



As the three approached the door, Tara pushed it open, holding it so that the others could enter. Anya looked up excitedly from the counter as they came in, then her face turned to disappointment. The girls walked over to her.



“Nice to see you too, Anya.” Willow sat on the stool by the counter. Anya looked at her apologetically.



“I’m sorry. It’s just that we haven’t had a customer in days now. At this rate, I’m going to inherit a dead business, and then there’s no way I’ll be able to pay for my new yoga class.”



“You’re taking yoga? Seeking to increase your spiritual enlightenment or something?”



Anya shook her head. “No, silly. To increase my flexibility.”



Tara raised her eyebrows. “Why would you want to do tha—Oh.” She quickly placed her hand over Dawn’s ears and led her away, the pair sitting at the large wooden table. Dawn began to giggle and Willow smiled at the sound.



Anya continued: “Well, Xander and I were going through this book, and there were all these positions, and I swear some of them are anatomically impossible, but anyway, we found this one and it’s apparently very good, but I don’t know if I can bend that way-“



“Too much information, Anya. Please stop.”



Anya rolled her eyes. The door to the training room opened and Xander and Giles emerged, each carrying a few books. Their faces lit up at the sight of the girls, and Giles hugged both Tara and Dawn. Anya and Willow moved over to the table, Willow moving uncomfortably, still feeling the after-effects from the previous night’s patrol. Giles hugged her, his face contorted with worry. “Are you okay, Willow? You fell pretty badly last night. I was worried about you.”



Willow smiled back at him. “No problem. Just a bit of surface damage. I can handle it, don’t worry.”



Giles returned her smile and nodded, raising his voice to address the group. “I expect you’re all wondering why I’ve called you here.”



“Yes, we are.” Anya sat at stared at him expectantly. “I should be out there attracting customers, so that they may exchange their money for goods and services!”



Giles frowned. “I’ve called you all here to say that… I have to return to England for a few weeks. The Council… has requested that I go back to discuss the… recent events and the situation with Glory. It will only be brief, but it’s required process whenever the Slayer is – out of action.”



Despite Giles’ carefully selected words, the underlying tension and grief the man was feeling at Buffy’s death shone through. Willow felt his sadness. Tara looked around uncertainly at the stony, unhappy faces and decided she best speak. “That-that’s fine Mr. Giles. W-we u-understand that y-you have to do this.”



Giles removed his glasses and ran a cloth over them before putting them back on. “Thank you, Tara.” There was another uneasy silence. “Are you sure you’ll be able to handle patrol while I’m away?”



Willow nodded slowly. “If you’ll only be gone for a few weeks, we should all – no I mean, we will all be okay. You know me – good old SuperWillow. I wouldn’t let you down.”



“Yeah.” Xander voiced his agreement. “We have the Buffybot and two of the best witches ever. And Spike. You should sort whatever it is out. Otherwise, they’ll just come over and try to pull their we’re-gonna-deport-you trick again.”



Tara glanced at Dawn. She was staring at the floor, chewing on her bottom lip, looking as though she was going to burst into tears at any moment. Tara placed her arm around her and Dawn rested her head on Tara’s shoulder. Giles noticed Dawn’s reaction, walking over to them and kneeling at their side. He took Dawn’s hand and she looked tearfully at him.



“Dawn, I promise I’ll be back soon. I won’t leave you.”



Dawn nodded and the two hugged. Tara and Willow stared at each other and exchanged unhappy glances.



Goddess, Tara thought, can this get any worse?



*****



Anya stumbled backwards, the cross slipping out of her right hand as she jabbed wildly with the stake in her left. The vampire grinned at her fear, baring its elongated fangs.



“Help!” Anya cried coarsely into the night air. Her boots lost traction on the mud beneath her and she slipped, falling backwards, her head narrowly missing a gravestone. The sound of her cry echoed through the darkness. Xander struggled to his feet, pushing the vampire holding him down away with a well-placed punch. He began to run to his fiancée, but another creature of the night lashed out, knocking him back down.



Anya called out again, edging back on her hands as the vamp came ever closer, preparing for the lunge that would secure her death.



Suddenly, red energy began to crackle around the vamp. Its mouth opened to emit a scream, but no sound emerged as its body turned to dust. The dust cleared and swirled away to reveal Willow stood there, her eyes black, hands crackling with the energy she had called upon for the spell. Tara stood beside her, their hands linked.



Anya pulled herself back up. “Okay, you know the thing we talked about? We need to kill the vampire before it lunges. Sure, it lessens the drama, but it’s preferable to near-bloody death.”



Willow glared at the ex-vengeance demon. “You’re welcome.” Turning her attention to the other vamps holding down Xander, Willow uttered a few words in Latin. White energy flowed between the two witches and a huge ball of light formed, flooding the landscape with a bright white glare.



Anya blinked and moved her hand to shield her eyes. It was sunlight! Momentarily confused, she suddenly recalled that Willow had attempted the spell before, during their argument, which had led to the reappearance of her ex-boyfriend, Olaf the Troll. Olaf’s infidelity had earned him that curse. So why did she feel guilty abut doing it?



The light faded and blackness once again fell over the graveyard. It looked just as it had before, except that the seven-or-so vampires were now dead. “Xander!” Anya ran to her man, helping him up off the floor.



A papery sigh escaped Willow’s throat and her legs gave way. Tara acted quickly, catching the redhead before she collapsed.



“Willow!?”



“Tara… did, did it… work?” Willow raised her hand to her nose, wiping away several droplets of blood from her nose.



“Yeah, it did. The vamps are all dusted.” Tara stared in alarm as a stream of blood ran from Willow’s nose, pooling on her upper lip. She gently titled Willow’s head and pressed her nose to stop the bleeding. Willow shut her eyes, exhausted. She’d been fine earlier – the first few waves of vamps had been killed quickly and easily, but not even the girls’ powers combined could run for so long without the inevitable magical drain and tiredness.



“Tara, I feel… so… tired…”



“Don’t worry. We’ll get you home in a minute.” Willow had insisted on taking the main brunt of the magic when Tara had said she would help. Tara didn’t want to argue with her, and had been eased slightly by Willow granting her consent for Tara to help her with the more powerful, dangerous spells.



“Willow! Willow!” Another voice sounded. Tara turned to the direction of the speaker, whose words was accompanied by a strange, metallic grating sound. Tara stared at the Buffy-bot in horror.



“Buffy, where did your arms go?”



*****



“So, do you think we’ll be able to fix her?” Tara stared at Willow, who was lying on their bed, dressed in her pajamas.



“I think so. We found the arms, at least.”



“Good. I’m glad Dawn was at Janice’s so she didn’t have to see that. This morning… when I got up, she was asleep next to Buffy-bot. I’m worried that she’s, you know, using it as a substitute for Buffy instead of grieving…”



Willow placed her hand to her head.



“Headache?” Tara enquired. Willow nodded and Tara sat beside her on the bed. “Sweetie, I think we need to think of a longer-term course of action. You can’t keep pushing yourself like this.”



“I’ll be fine.” Willow’s reply was short and sharp.



“I know, I’m just saying that you may be stretching yourself too much. Perhaps I should help more. Earlier was good, when you let me help you with the ball of sunlight, but we still need to split things more evenly.”



Willow sat up and rested against the headboard. She sighed. “I… I don’t know, Tara. I don’t like having you out there as it is. I already lost you once before… I don’t want it to happen again.”



“Willow, that wasn’t your fault. You had no way of knowing that Glory thought I was the key.”



“Yeah? But if I hadn’t got mad at you for understanding Buffy better and left you Glory might not have been able to hurt you. And then she wouldn’t have got Dawn, and Buffy… wouldn’t be dead. Buffy jumped off that tower, but it’s because of me that she had to do it. It’s my fault she’s dead.”



“No! You can’t think like that, Willow. You didn’t do anything wrong.”



Willow looked thoughtful and stared down at the bedsheets. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then stopped. There was a brief pause, and then she spoke again. “Tara, I… I think I know how to solve our problems.”



Tara raised an eyebrow. “How?”



“You’re right, we can’t hold the town forever. Sooner or later some nasty is going to come along and kill us. We need the Slayer here. I think we should… no, we need to… bring Buffy back.”



Tara’s eyes widened in alarm and she stood up, wringing her hands. “Willow, w-we can’t. It’s dangerous, a-and it’s w-wrong.”



“We have to. There’s no other option. We have to accept it. Buffy is dead. Our friend is gone. She died to save us all, but we don’t know what’s happened to her. Her soul… she could be trapped in some hell dimension being tortured… and I can’t leave her there. I won’t allow it.” Willow’s voice threatened to break with emotion and a tear ran down her face.



“I-I don’t know. We can’t know what’s happened. But resurrection… I don’t even know if there are spells that can do that. Properly, I mean. There are so many spells, and if they go wrong, the person comes back… wrong. There must be another way.”



“There isn’t.”



“Willow…” Tara’s mind was buzzing. Could she tell Willow? Should she tell her about what she had tried all those years ago?



Willow reached down to the bedside cabinet and pulled open a drawer, removing a stash of papers. “I’ve been… thinking about this for a while. I found a spell. It’s guaranteed to work – we can bring her back just as she was before. No zombies, no monsters. Just Buffy.”



“But…”



“It’ll work, baby. I promise. I need you to be with me on this. Think about Dawn, she’ll have Buffy back – she won’t need to grieve. We can give the world a beautiful gift, and we wouldn’t have to worry about doing patrol every night. Everything could be just like it was before. Us, together… a family again.”



Tara sat again and ran her hand through her hair.



“I-I need to think about this. It’s not that I don’t trust you, and I love and want Buffy back too, but this is big. The spells are hard and difficult to do for a reason. If we were to do it – which I’m not sure she should – we would be violating every law of nature. What about the consequences?”



“There won’t be any. The spell I’ve found… It requires the Urn of Osiris. We do a simple ritual, and there’s a small test to be sure we’re worthy, and she’s back. And Dawn has her sister again, and we have the Slayer.”



Tara sighed. “Let me sleep on it. I have to consider this from every angle. And I’m not sure if I’m happy that you were doing all this behind my back.”



“I wasn’t! Not behind your back. I just wanted to make sure it would be possible. You’re the first person I’ve told, because I value your opinion more than anything.”



Tara wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue the discussion. Images of Dawn cuddling the robot flashed into her head. If Buffy could come back – correctly, as Willow had said – everything could be made right again. Tara leaned over and turned the light off.



“We can talk about this more tomorrow.”



Willow nodded slowly and rested her head on her pillow, slowly shutting her eyes.



Tara lay back and rested her head on her pillow, staring at the ceiling, worry etched upon her face. After several hours of thinking, she slowly drifted into sleep.



*****



“Got everything?” Tara turned and smiled at Dawn, sat in the back seat of the jeep.



Dawn picked up her school bag and nodded at the two women watching her, their gazes somewhat anxious. “Yep.”



“Okay. Have a great first day back, sweetie.”



Willow spoke next. “We’ll pick you up later, save you having to walk. Okay?”



“Sure.” Dawn offered them her best God-it’s-Monday-morning-and-I’m-back-at-school smile and climbed out, waving as she walked up the stairs towards the school building. Willow and Tara waved back.



Once Dawn was inside and out of view, Willow turned to Tara.



“Did you think about it..? You were really quiet all yesterday. I was kinda worried…”



Tara looked straight ahead, then calmly turned to face Willow.



“I’ve thought about it. What do we need to do?”

Edited by: LostWithoutTara at: 7/17/03 9:22 am

[tiredsoul]

Wow, this is really good. Quite an endeavor to rectify the horror that was season sux. I like how you've delved more into the thought about the resurrection spell. You seem to have a much better handle on it than they did in canon. A great read.



I look forward to the next update.



Thanks.



--celia

---------------------------------

When innocence is shattered
... madness is inevitable
www.gotlicky.com

[chilled monkey]

Brilliant! You have done a good job of encapsulating everyones personalities. I'm also pleased that you included the 'ball of sunlight' spell.

[darkmagicwillow]

This chapter is an excellent start to a new and improved season six. The characters feel more themselves here than they did in Bargaining, from large aspects like Willow coming to the idea of resurrection and Tara's emotional difficulty in accepting the idea to small ones like Anya's wonderfully funny comments on yoga.

--

"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit." -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[LostWithoutTara]

tiredsoul - Thank you for the feedback. I felt it was very important to really understand the exact reasoning behind the Scoobies' decision to bring Buffy back, and we never really got to view it during the show. I suppose that's the benefit of doing a narrative style - we get to delve into the thoughts as well as the speech and actions of the characters.



chilled monkey - Wow! I got the applause emoticon. Thanks! I always wondered why the Scoobs never reused the powerful spells from before, so ball of sunlight seemed like a good one to bring back, especially as Willow would probably have perfected it between 'Triangle' and the period of the story.



darkmagicwillow - Thank you very much. I'm going to make sure to bring Anya's yoga back in in the next part I write.

[justin]

- Season Six - The Rising Darkness: Episode Two - 'Carrion'

- Author of this part: Justin

- Email address: justin@techie.com

- Feedback: Would be wonderful

- Distribution: Just here, please.

- Spoilers: Up to and including 'The Gift'

- Rating: PG-13 - although it may rise

- Pairing: W/T, X/A, B/S

- Disclaimer: All the characters in this story belong to Joss and ME.

- Notes - Many thanks to my betas DarkMagicWillow and LostWithoutTara, You both rock my socks.





Season Six - Episode Two



Carrion



As was usual for the time of night the cemetery was deserted, the only movement being the bushes blowing in a slight breeze. That is, save for the two groups making their way through the rows of graves. Since they were moving through the wealthier part of the cemetery the graves were either marked by large, ornate statues or contained in small mausoleums.



The first group, the Scoobies, were being led by Willow. Tara was just behind her, followed by Spike and the Buffy-bot. Xander and Anya were trailing a short distance behind discussing their wedding. Xander was holding a small axe in both hands, while Anya had a box of popcorn. Willow's eyes were moving from side to side, as if checking the graves and bushes for any sign of danger. In fact all her attention was focused on the second group. Shortly after they had entered the cemetery a group of vampires had started following them, so quietly that Willow had only just spotted them. Now they were pretending to not notice the vampires in order to lead them to a good spot for an ambush.



The leader of the vampires was a tall, skinny male who was walking as though he thought that he were the first vampire. Tonight he was going to kill the slayer and her band of helpers, and that would make him in the demon world. Of course the five vampires with him would most likely be killed but they didn't really matter. The only reason why he'd sired this pathetic lot rather than just draining them dry was for tonight. If any of them survived he'd stake them himself, after all he didn't want them stealing his glory.



Movement up ahead attracted Willow's attention. Looking up she gave a small gasp of horror. They had been so busy pretending to not notice the group of vampires behind them that they had failed to notice the group of vampires in front of them.



Willow shouted, "Look out!" However, it was already too late, as the two groups of vampires attacked.



Spike snarled and threw himself at the group in front punching at anything that got in his way. At the same time the Buffy-bot and Xander turned to take on the group behind them. Anya dropped the popcorn and drew a stake, readying herself to dust any vampires if the opportunity presented itself.



Tara and Willow climbed onto the roof of one of the mausoleums so they would be out of the way, and get a good view of what was happening. Joining hands, they began chanting. A vampire that had been about to attack Xander found itself immobilised as a bush moved to grab hold of it.



"What the..." was all it managed to get out before exploding into dust as Anya staked it.



The battle slowly turned in favour of the Scoobies. Spike had hold of one of the vampires and was banging its head against the mausoleum that Willow and Tara were on. Willow threw a stake down to Spike and, giving her a nod of thanks, he drove it into the vampire's back. The Buffy-bot staked one vampire then, reversing the direction of her stroke, she dusted a second vampire that had been approaching from behind. She twirled the stake round before moving to attack a tall vampire who seemed to be the leader.



This was it. He was going to kill the Slayer. He was going to be a hero amongst other vampires. He was... When did that happen? The vampire opened it's mouth in shock as it felt the intense, agonising pain of a stake being driven through it's heart. The Buffy-bot pulled her stake out of the vampire as he disintegrated.



By now there was only two vampires left. They turned to look at each other for a moment, before running away.



"They're getting away," The Buffy-bot said.



"Nothing gets past her, does it." Spike commented, as they started to follow.



The group split up and began hunting for the two vampires. They'd been looking for a few minutes when Xander disappeared from view with a strangled cry.



"Xander, what's wrong?" Willow called out, "Xander."



"It's okay." Xander finally answered, "I just fell into a grave. Why do people leave these open, if they're not being used?"



Anya, who was staring at a set of tracks leading away from the grave said, "I don't think that it was unused."



Pulling himself out of the grave Xander found himself staring at a gravestone Anne Brooks, beloved wife and companion. "Oh right."



***



The next day they all met up at the Magic Box. Willow and Tara were sitting at the table, Willow using her laptop to search the newspaper archives. Xander was pacing nearby while Anya stood behind the counter, throwing the occasional comment at them. After examining the grave they had determined that someone had dug the body up then dragged it off. Unfortunately the trail had disappeared after a short while. Now they were all checking for any similar incidences.



"So what are we dealing with here?" Xander asked the group.



"It's probably someone trying to raise an army of zombies." Anya answered.



"According to the papers there's been a spell of grave robberies." Willow said.



Tara was reading the paper over Willow's shoulder. "It says here that all the bodies are of women between eighteen and twenty two years old."



"Is this starting to seem familiar to anyone?" Xander asked.



"No." Tara and Anya answered.



"Of course, Chris Epps!" Willow seemed to be excited about answering the question.



"Who?"



"He was a student at high school. He was trying to put together pieces of different women to create a girlfriend for his brother." Willow explained



"That's... gross." Tara grimaced at the thought of it.



"It was. Very, very gross." Willow smiled slightly as she remembered the one upside to what had happened and whispered to herself, "But at least I won the science fair that year." Returning to the current topic she said, louder, "It might be someone else at the school."



"I don't know. From the ages of the women it's probably someone older."



"You mean at the college? We should go and check the labs there." Willow decided.



***



Their first port of call was the UCSD biology building. They investigated each of the labs there, checking to see if any of the equipment had been taken or used. Willow examined the lock on one of the supply cabinets and said, "This doesn't look like it's been tampered with."



Tara was looking at a cupboard full of jars of preservatives. There was one, large jar that particularly caught her attention. It contained a crab-like creature which had long, bony legs and a long prehensile tail. As she moved to get a closer look, it suddenly sprang into life. Flattening itself against the glass of the jar, it seemed to be trying to force a small tube through the glass. Taking a step back in shock Tara slammed the doors shut. Seeing that Willow was looking at her Tara said in a high pitched voice, "I don't think..." Stopping and taking a moment to calm herself she repeated, "I don't think that anything is missing."



Willow nodded, "I guess whoever's doing this didn't use anything from the college."



Tara nodded, "That student you mentioned, Chris Epps, why was he trying to make a girlfriend for his brother? Was there something wrong with him?"



"Oh well his brother, Daryl, died in a climbing accident, and Chris had, I guess, reanimated him. It was all very bride of Frankenstein."



"He must have loved his brother a lot."



"Yes, but he should have known that it was the wrong thing to do." Willow shook her head in a disapproving manner.



Tara frowned a little, as a thought occurred to her, "That's an odd thing to say."

       

Willow turned to give Tara a questioning look, "What, do?"



"No that it was wrong, how is it different from what we're doing?"



"We've talked about this." Willow said with a slight sigh, as she tried to hide her frustration. They had talked about this quite a few times. "It's different because Buffy's death wasn't natural. After she went through that portal, who knows what sort of hell dimension she's trapped in. Anyway it's not like we're turning Buffy into some sort of freakish Frankenstein like creature. She won't need us to collect the bodies of dead woman to make her a boyfriend." Willow paused, realising that her last words hadn't made much sense. "I mean girlfriend, I mean..." Willow stopped as she realised that she didn't know what she meant. Giving up on that tact she said, "I'm just saying that our circumstances are different."



Tara nodded, still a little uncertain. "We'd better get back."



***



Anya was busy counting the receipts for the day when she was distracted by the bell ringing. She looked up to glower at the young man who had just come in. Why did people have to wait to just before closing time before coming in? The man was dressed all in black, this along with the small goatee beard that shouted out look at me, I'm a witch. Anya wondered how Willow would react to the way he was dressed. Since she was just in the training room, Anya considered getting her. She discarded the notion as the man wandered over to the nearest shelves. Great, he's probably going to browse for hours, then leave without buying anything. The man looked at the items on the shelf, occasionally glancing over towards Anya.



Finally, after working his courage up, he walked up to the counter. Passing Anya a sheet of paper he said, "I'd like these items please."



Anya quickly glanced over the list then frowned. "This is for an Omic protection spell."



"That's right," the young man said, starting to grow more nervous. "It's not safe in this town."



"I've got these in the back room. I'll just get them."



Anya pointedly locked the cash register then quickly made her way into the training room where Willow was working on the Buffy-bot's combat routines. She had her laptop plugged into an opening in its back. Willow pressed a couple of buttons then stepped back. Getting closer, Anya saw a small bar filling up on the screen. When it had finished she shoved the list under Willow's nose. "Look at this, someone wants to buy these."



"One moment." Willow unplugged her laptop then switched the Buffy-bot on. The Buffy-bot walked over to the training dummy and attempted to hit it with a roundhouse kick. Unfortunately it got the distance wrong, and missed by a few centimetres. Spinning round, the Buffy-bot fell on its back.



"That's not right." Willow complained. Anya coughed impatiently, shaking the list. Taking it off her Willow read it. Then, not sure how to respond, she ventured, "That's nice."



"Nice? this is an Omic protection spell."



"So?"



"So, in order for it to be effective you need a talisman, a bone taken from the same sort of animal as the one you want to protect."



"Animal? Oh." Willow quickly went through into the shop, with Anya following. "Is that him?"



"Yeah."



"Hey," Willow said to the man, "You were asking about this spell? You do know that you need a bone as a talisman, don't you?"



"Um, I've got a chicken bone."



"Oh well that's fine, if you're only wanting to protect chickens. You need a human bone, where'd you get it?"



"I don't..."



"It was you who dug up the bodies, wasn't it?" Willow glared at him, daring him to contradict her.



"No, I swear." He was starting to sound rather panicked, "I mean I was going to, but I found this..." He reached into his backpack and pulled out a leg bone. Willow took a step back as he tried to hand it to her, but Anya took it.



"Hey, these look like teeth marks." Anya turned the bone over a couple of times, a look of morbid curiosity on her face.



"Teeth marks?" Willow was starting to feel unwell.



Anya waved the bone in the young man's face and said, in a indignant tone, "Listen, if you tell us where you found this, we won't tell anyone about your ghoulish behaviour."



Once he'd told them where he found the bone they let him go. Willow went to the counter saying, "We need to get the others. You know some people have no respect for the dead."



***



It was normally light very late in the evening in Sunnydale during the Summer. Tonight, due to the thick clouds overhead, it had gotten dark a lot earlier than normal. Visibility was further hampered by the heavy rain that was falling. Willow pressed herself close to Tara, trying to get the most protection from the umbrella that Tara was holding. Anya was walking beside them, while Xander was a few paces up ahead.



"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Anya asked for the hundredth time.



"Yes, I'm positive." Willow snapped. Neither the rain or Anya's constant questioning were helping Willow's mood. Worse was the worry that they might indeed be going the wrong way. Tara gave Willow's hand a slight squeeze and offered her an encouraging smile.



"But how can you tell? In this rain we could be..." Anya went on, heedless of Willow's annoyance.



"I've found it." Xander called from up ahead. "Well at least it's dry in... God, what is that smell?" As the others reached the cave they shone their lights around it looking for the source of the stench. Xander Grimaced as his torch fell on an arm that was lying on the ground. There were a couple of large pieces missing. Xander moved his torch slightly and saw a young woman lying on her back, her hair tangled and dirtied, her face was frozen in a mask of pain. For a while Xander couldn't move, his attention caught by the woman's unblinking gaze. Turning away Xander started to feel ill as he noticed that the woman's body was missing from the torso downwards. Fighting to stop himself from being sick Xander pressed onwards, finding other bodies in a similar condition. He knew that these people had been dead when they had been brought here, yet there was something about their expressions that made it seem as though they had felt themselves being eaten.



"Is that?" Anya asked as she caught up with Xander.       



"Yeah," Xander said as he moved closer, "I guess this is what's happening to the people from the graves."



Willow started to move to examine the bodies when a thought occurred to her. "Buffy!" she shouted before turning and running out of the cave.



***



Willow sprinted through the cemetery, almost heedless of the way that she was going. As Willow entered the area where they'd buried Buffy's body, she slipped on the wet ground, and fell to her knees. Soaking wet and gasping for breath, Willow's only thought was getting close enough to the grave, to see that it was undisturbed.



"Thank God." Willow gasped, surprised to find herself crying, "Thank God!"



"Willow." Xander approached hesitantly, "Are you okay?"



Willow clambered to her feet. Her arms and chest were covered with mud and her hair was plastered to her face. Willows face was streaked with dirt and tears giving her a slightly manic look that made Xander a little nervous. "I was so afraid it might have..."



Xander glanced at the gravestone, "Oh yeah, that would have..." The nausea that Xander had felt before increased as he thought about whatever was behind this desecrating Buffy's body.



"I thought that we might have lost her for good. That we might not be able to do the spell to bring her back if..." Willow stopped as she noticed the shocked look on Xander's face.



"What did you just say?"



"Um..." Willow hesitated.



"Maybe we should go somewhere dry to talk about this." Xander suggested. He had a feeling that this was going to be a long conversation.



***



As they got back home Tara said to Willow, "You better go up and get changed."



"But we need to tell Xander and Anya about..."



"I'll handle that. You go and dry off." Seeing that Willow was going to argue she went on, "You don't want to catch pneumonia do you?" Willow nodded and went upstairs, while the rest went into the living room.



When Willow got downstairs she was greeted by Anya's question, "Were you planning on telling us?"



"Of course we were."



"Um Will, when exactly?" Xander asked.



Tara stepped in at this point. "We wanted to make certain that we had a spell that was definitely going to work. I promise that we were going to tell you."



"But what about the consequences?" Xander didn't really know much about raising the dead, but he had the feeling that if it were as easy as they were making out then everyone would be doing it.



"None." Willow answered, "This spell is one hundred percent guaranteed to be consequence free."



"What sort of guarantee?" Anya asked.



"Huh?"



"Well is it satisfaction guaranteed or your money back? Or maybe something more like, if you are not completely happy with this spell then we'll cheerfully replace it?"



"Um, nothing like that. But we've both checked how the spell works and it should be fine. It will be fine."



"Well okay then, now we know we want to be kept informed about what's going on." Xander said.



"Okay then." Willow agreed, "But for the moment we have to concentrate on whatever's eating the bodies."



***



"Wow, can you believe that?" Xander asked as they walked away from the house.



"Actually I can. Willow hasn't been coping with the pressure very well, so I'm surprised that its taken her this long," Anya answered.



"What, Willow's been doing fine."



"She's falling apart. You can tell - the leading patrol, taking care of Dawn - they're all taking a toll. It's obvious that she'd see bringing Buffy back as being the way to solve everything."



Xander thought about this a moment, "Is that bad?"



"They have no idea who wrote that spell, or what it's purpose is other than what was written. For all we know that spell could do anything, maybe even summon nasal demons." Anya explained.



"Yeah but you, know Willow and Tara are both with the Wicca thing, so they should know."



"Xander, this is an Egyptian spell that is older than I am; it is not Wicca."



"I mean, they know all about the witchy stuff. So what? Don't you think they should do it?"



"I... I miss Buffy as well. It's just not going to be as easy as they think it is."



"Well nothing ever is."



***



It took a few minutes of searching the house for Dawn to find Tara. Eventually she found her in the basement taking washing out of the machine and folding it. After hesitating a few moments Dawn said, "So everyone seems to be pretty worried about this... whatever it is... that's eating the bodies."



"Well we're worried that it might hurt someone."



"Yeah, Anya said that Willow was pretty freaked when you found the bodies." As she spoke, Dawn watched Tara for any kind of reaction. When she had heard about how Willow had reacted she had started to hope that maybe Willow had found a way to bring Buffy back. She had tried to tell herself that she was being silly, but still she couldn't help hoping. Now she realised that she had been wrong. Given Tara's unhappiness at Dawn's attempt to resurrect her mother, Dawn should have known Tara wouldn't have agreed to this, and she knew that Willow wouldn't do this without her.



***



After Dawn had gone, Tara went to find Willow, who was up in Buffy's room doing some tests on the Buffy-bot as usual. Aside from researching the spell to resurrect Buffy, and spells to help with patrolling, keeping it in working order was the thing that took up most of Willow's time. Willow made a couple of adjustments then said, "Don't worry, Buffy, we'll soon have you on your feet."



"Willow."



Willow jumped slightly. "Tara, I didn't notice you there."



"I was just talking to Dawn, and I wondered if, now that Xander and Anya know, should we tell her as well." Tara hesitated and went on, "I just hate lying to her."



"You're right. I don't like it either, and Dawn has been missing Buffy so much. But what if something goes wrong? Not that anything will, because this spell is one hundred percent guaranteed to work, but what if something did..."



Tara nodded, she knew that with any spell there was a chance that it wouldn't work, and it would hurt Dawn too much to get her hopes up, only for it to fail.



***



"This has been a waste of time." Anya complained. They had patrolled all the cemeteries but hadn't found any sign of whatever was digging up the graves.



"Ahn, we might not have found the grave robber, but we did stake a load of vamps, so it wasn't a complete..." Xander started to point out.



"What's that over there?" Willow pointed to a figure a short distance off, kneeling beside one of the graves.



"It's just someone tending to a grave." Anya said, after a quick look.



"Then why is there a pile of earth next to them?" As they moved towards the figure they saw that it was digging the grave up. Sensing them approach, the creature stood up and faced them.



The creature appeared to be an old man, wearing worn and tattered clothes. From what they could see of its face and hands, its skin was rotting, with pieces of flesh hanging loose. Seeing them it smiled, revealing sharp, blackened teeth. It was still a moment, seeming to inspect each member of the group. Then it moved. Its movements were slow and awkward, yet somehow it covered the several metres between it and Tara in an instant. Tara gave a cry of pain as it threw her to the ground.



Willow had been thinking up a few spells to use against the creature, but upon hearing Tara cry out, they all vanished. She threw herself at the creature, but it just grabbed her and threw her across the graveyard. As Willow was travelling everything around her seemed to freeze, while a part of her mind thought well, look at me, I can fly. Willow was brought back to reality as she slammed into a gravestone. She gasped with pain, her vision starting to fade. Fighting to remain conscious, Willow focused on the battle. Xander and the Buffy-bot were both attacking the creature, but it was moving too quickly for them to be able hit it. Anya was standing a short distance away looking for an opportunity to shoot the creature with he crossbow. Tara, Willow's heart skipped a beat as she noticed that Tara was still lying on the ground. She tried to rise but this caused another burst of pain. As she blacked out, Willow noticed that the creature was standing on hooves rather than feet.



"Willow. Willow!" Willow opened her eyes and found Tara looking at her with a concerned expression. "Are you okay?"



"Well my back's a bit sore, but I think I'll survive." Willow noticed that the Buffy-bot was helping Tara stand up, "What about you?"



"I twisted my ankle, but aside from that, I think that I'll be okay."



Xander moved to help Willow up. She felt a twinge of pain as she stood, but managed to hide it from the others. "What about the beastie?"



"It took off." Xander answered, "I mean literally. It suddenly sprouted wings and flew away."



***



Willow looked up from the book she was reading to gaze at Tara, who was sitting opposite her with her left leg lifted up. They were both at home, researching the monster. Willow had felt so frightened when Tara had been thrown to the ground. Part of her wanted to ask Tara to not come on patrol with them, but she knew that she couldn't. Aside from the fact that she needed Tara's help, she knew Tara would be hurt if she suggested it.



Noticing Willow staring at her, Tara asked, "Is something wrong?"



"I was just wondering how your leg is."



"I think the swelling's starting to go down." Tara answered with a slight smile.



"Do you want me to get some more ice?" Willow asked, already standing and moving towards the kitchen.



"What about you, is your back okay?"



"Well it's a little sore, but I think it should be okay."



Returning with a bag of ice Willow placed it on Tara's ankle. "Yow! That's cold."



Willow gave Tara an apologetic look then said, "Sorry I didn't think." She gently placed the ice on the swelling, being careful to not press it down to firmly. She was so caught up in this that she didn't notice Anya and Xander arriving.



"See I told you that they weren't researching. We didn't have to rush."

       

"We have been researching and we've made some progress. Tara, you tell them." Tara began to lean forward to get a book off of the table. Seeing this, Willow grabbed the book and handed it to Tara.



Anya slapped Xander's arm. "Why didn't you look after me like that when I was hurt?"



"Um well, you see..." Xander stammered. He was relieved when Anya turned back to Tara.



"We think that the creature is a Ghul, or Ghoul. They're a type of Jinn, who haunt graveyards and eat carrion."



"They're believed to be the children of Iblis." Willow interrupted, "Who was this powerful Angel who refused to bow to humans so he was banished." Noticing the puzzled looks the others were giving her, Willow went on, "And this is completely not relevant, so, um, go on Tara."



Tara gave Willow an indulgent smile and went on, "Ghouls are shape shifters, but they can always be recognised because they have hooves instead of feet."



"Fine, but how do we kill them?" Xander asked.



"That's where we're stuck. The only reference we've found to killing one says that you need to kill it with one blow."



"But we weren't able to touch that thing."



"I know, so grab a book and get started." Willow gestured towards the pile of open books in front of her.



***



Spike moved towards Buffy's grave, his head bowed. Even after all this time he was still having trouble believing that Buffy was dead. He knew that all slayers died by their early twenties or earlier, but a part of him had thought that Buffy would be different, that she would live to see old age. After all she'd beaten him a number of times which meant that she had to be something special.



As Spike got close to the grave he noticed someone nearby it, so he hung back. Even with everything that had happened he still wasn't popular among the Scoobies, so he didn't think they'd want him interrupting. Then, as he caught smell of it, he realised that it wasn't one of the Scoobies. Moving closer he realised that it was digging Buffy's grave up. Without hesitation Spike threw himself at the creature, only to find himself flying back again, into a tree. Putting his vamp face on, Spike growled, "Right, you asked for this," before running at it.



***



The four friends sat in virtual silence, the only sound being the turning of pages as they hunted for any clue as to how to kill the ghoul. The Buffy-bot was sitting quietly, watching them intently, waiting for them to need something. Willow was sitting close to Tara and was leaning over to whisper...



"Ah!" Xander suddenly shouted out, smacking the book he had been reading. His face reddened as everyone turned to him and he said, in a quieter tone, "I think I've found something." Looking back at the book he was holding he went on, "No church-yard ghole, caught lingering in the light of bless'd day. I know it's spelt different, but could this be one of the ghouls." As he was saying this Xander got up and went to show them the reference.



"Yes. That is an alternate spelling." Tara said, "So that means..."



"We just need to use the ball of sunshine spell." Willow finished, "I've still got all the ingredients for that together. Xander can you get them? They're in chest just through the door." Xander nodded and left.



Tara held her hand up and said, "Help me up?"



"But Tara, your ankle."



"I don't need my ankle to cast this spell with you."



Willow nodded and was moving to help Tara up, when the door flew open and Spike burst in.



Xander, returning with the ingredients, was about to challenge him when he noticed the cuts on Spike's face, and that his coat was muddied.



"What happened to you?" Anya asked.



"There's something digging up Buffy's grave, right nasty bugger too."



"Right, we've got to get moving. All of you are going to have to keep the ghoul busy while I cast the spell."



"But..." Tara started.



"Sorry Tara, but we don't have time."



As they started to leave Xander turned to stop Spike. "Spike, I've got two words for you, ball of sunshine."



"That's three words, you tosser." Spike held up his hand and slowly counted off with his fingers. "Well, I know when I'm not wanted."



Xander was going to ask why Spike was still around when he saw that he was being left behind and quickly followed the others.



Spike turned to Tara and sighed. "Looks like we're both on the sidelines this time." He offered Tara a cigarette, which she declined.



***



When they reached Buffy's grave they found the ghoul, still digging. "Hey ugly, get away from there!" Anya shouted, throwing a stone at the ghoul. She immediately regretted it, as the ghoul turned and lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. Xander moved in to attack it before it could hurt Anya, forcing it to dodge back as he swung his axe at it.



Willow stayed back from the others, while she began chanting the spell. Noticing the build up of magic in the area, the ghoul knocked Xander away. A pair of wings spouted from its back and it began to fly upwards. Before it could get too far off the ground, though, the Buffy-bot ran forward, jumped into the air and grabbed hold of the ghouls legs, pulling it to the ground. The ghoul struggled to get loose, kicking and clawing at its face. Ignoring this the Buffy-bot was able to keep hold of the ghoul while Willow finished the spell. A small ball of light appeared in front of her. A moment later it exploded, bathing the area in sunlight. The ghoul screamed, in a high pitched shriek that made everyone wince, as its skin began to disintegrate. After a few seconds there was just a skeleton left, which crumbled into dust.



"Willow, you did it." Xander said.



Trying to smile Willow said weakly, "Okay, if no one minds, I'm just going to... pass out." Willow's legs gave out beneath her, but before she could fall she was caught by a pair of familiar arms. "Thanks Buffy." Willow mumbled, before blacking out.



***



"Do I never want to do that again," Xander said as they walked through the door. Looking round the room, he wasn't sorry to see that Spike had left.



"It certainly does take a lot out of you." Willow agreed,



"Willow, are you okay?" Tara asked, as she limped over to join them.



"I'm fine," Willow said. "And you should be resting that ankle." Willow hugged Tara, then helped her back to her seat.



"That sunshine spell worked like a charm." Xander continued.



"What about Buffy? Were you..."



"We just got there in time," Willow said. "It was about to break her coffin open. But we were able to stop it."



"Which brings us back to the main topic for tonight," Anya said. "What's this spell to bring Buffy back and what do you need us to do?"



***



"I'm glad that we dealt with that ghoul." Willow said as she got ready for bed, "I was really worried it might have gotten to Buffy's body." She thought a moment then said, "Maybe we should put a ward round Buffy so that we don't have to worry about anything like this happening again."



"It might be an idea," Tara agreed, as she got into bed. "We should look into it tomorrow."



Willow noticed that Tara seemed to be rather distant. As she got into bed, she asked, "Is something wrong?"



"No, nothing. My ankle's still just a bit sore."



"Tara, do you remember the night before, when I told you about the resurrection spell?" Tara just nodded, "Do you remember what you said to me, when I was being all avoidy?"



"That this is our room, and you can tell me anything here."



"Right, and that applies just as much to you as it does to me, so what's wrong?"



Tara sighed, part of her wanted to get her fears out in the open, but she was worried that she might put it badly and cause another argument like the one just before Glory had attacked her. "Well you're growing very strong with your magic and that impresses me," At least I got the right word this time, "but, I guess, I'm also worried that you don't need me."



Willow looked hurt at this. What is she saying? After everything we went through with Glory, does she still think I'll leave her?



Seeing the look on Willow's face and guessing what she was thinking, Tara started to reach out to Willow, then stopped, uncertain. "I'm not saying that I think you'll leave me or go back to boys town..."



"Then what?"



Tara paused, wanting to make sure that this came out right. "I just want to help, but I'm worried that instead I'm just holding you back."



Willow took Tara's hand in her own. "Tara, is this because I went without you tonight?" Tara gave a slight nod, "Well, you're right I am getting good at magic, but don't you see, that's because of you. Before I met you I couldn't even contact the spirit world without knocking out the power for the block. There's no way I could have cast something like the sunshine spell. Tonight we had to hurry to get to Buffy's grave and with your ankle you wouldn't have been able to. But I really wish you could have been there, not just to help with the magic, but because just by being there you give me the confidence to keep going. And I really have been going on a while, so do you get it at all?"



Tara nodded, "I do." Willow moved closer to Tara and rested her head on Tara's shoulder. Tara smiled down at Willow, though as they drifted off to sleep Tara had to admit that she was still worried.



***



Giles glanced at his watch for the tenth time that hour and sighed with impatience. When he had arrived in England he had gone straight to the Watcher's Council, only to be told that they weren't ready for him. The same thing had happened on his next couple of visits. On his third he was told to go home, and that they would call him when he was needed. That morning Giles had been called and told to report right away. Giles had done so and had been waiting for five hours for someone to see him. Of course he knew what was going on, this was a ploy to put him in his place. To show him who was in charge.



Just as Giles was about to leave a woman approached him and said, "Mr Travers will see you now."

I understand, you should be with the person you l-love


I am

[chilled monkey]

Very good episode two. I especially like the part where Anya corrects Xander on the difference between 'Wicca' and 'witch'.

The end, where Willow assures Tara that she needs her is very nice too.



I have only one tiny critiscism. Why does Willow keep saying that the spell will have no consequences? I admit that I'm no expert, but I'm sure that magick always has repercussions, even if the spell works perfectly (remember the threefold rule). It'll be interesting to see her reaction when they discover that it DOES have very serious consequences.

Edited by: chilled monkey at: 7/30/03 1:09 pm

[justin]

Chilled Monkey, thanks for your comments. I'm glad that you liked this part.



You raise some good points. If we take Willow literaly when she says there are no consequences then that means that the spell does nothing, since Buffy coming back to life is a consequence of the spell.



I'd say that Willow actualy means that there are no negative consequences and that even in this she is indulging in a serious bout of willful self dilusion.

I understand, you should be with the person you l-love


I am

[darkmagicwillow]

The details you've added since I last looked at the chapter, such as the name on the tombstone of the grave Xander falls into, have really improved it, making the scenes more visual as well as helping the flow of the story move along. Carrion works well as one of the MOTW episodes of Buffy that helps the season arc move along without making it too large and evident a part of the whole episode.

--

"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit." -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[justin]

DMW, Thanks for your comments

Quote:

---

Carrion works well as one of the MOTW episodes of Buffy that helps the season arc move along without making it too large and evident a part of the whole episode.

---

That's what I had intended, so I'm glad to hear that it worked out that way



FYI, the part with the name on the gravestone was LWT's idea.

I understand, you should be with the person you l-love


I am

[xita]

I finally read this, so hard reading all this. So tough to see where Willow's headed and Tara being basically unable to stop it. You both did a great job with the emotions in it. I really love how concerned they both are for each other, I wonder how that will play out in your season 6 as we move along.

- - - - - - - - - - -
"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."

-Me & Bobby
McGee

[LostWithoutTara]

Previously…



Willow looked thoughtful and stared down at the bedsheets. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then stopped. There was a brief pause, and then she spoke again. “Tara, I… I think I know how to solve our problems.”



Tara raised an eyebrow. “How?”



“You’re right, we can’t hold the town forever. Sooner or later some nasty is going to come along and kill us. We need the Slayer here. I think we should… no, we need to… bring Buffy back.”



Tara’s eyes widened in alarm and she stood up, wringing her hands. “Willow, w-we can’t. It’s dangerous, a-and it’s w-wrong.”



“We have to. There’s no other option. We have to accept it. Buffy is dead. Our friend is gone. She died to save us all, but we don’t know what’s happened to her. Her soul… she could be trapped in some hell dimension being tortured… and I can’t leave her there. I won’t allow it.” Willow’s voice threatened to break with emotion and a tear ran down her face. 6.01, Starting Over



*****



"Wow, can you believe that?" Xander asked as he and Anya walked away from the house.



"Actually I can. Willow hasn't been coping with the pressure very well, so I'm surprised that its taken her this long," Anya answered.



"What, Willow's been doing fine."



"She's falling apart. You can tell - the leading patrol, taking care of Dawn - they're all taking a toll. It's obvious that she'd see bringing Buffy back as being the way to solve everything."



Xander thought about this a moment, "Is that bad?"



"They have no idea who wrote that spell, or what it's purpose is other than what was written. For all we know that spell could do anything, maybe even summon nasal demons." Anya explained.



"Yeah but you, know Willow and Tara are both with the Wicca thing, so they should know."



"Xander, this is an Egyptian spell that is older than I am; it is not Wicca."



"I mean, they know all about the witchy stuff. So what? Don't you think they should do it?"



"I... I miss Buffy as well. It's just not going to be as easy as they think it is."



"Well nothing ever is." 6.02, Carrion





• Season Six - The Rising Darkness: Episode Three - 'Falling'

• Author of this part: LostWithoutTara

• Email address: lostwithouttara@hotmail.com

• Feedback: Would be wonderful

• Distribution: Just here, please.

• Spoilers: Up to and including 'The Gift'

• Rating: PG-13 - although it may rise

• Pairing: W/T, X/A, B/S

• Disclaimer: Joss and ME own all characters.

• Special Thanks - Justin for betaing.



Season Six, Episode Three



Falling



The scene was of pure tranquillity, the type captured on countless paintings and cards all over the world. Willow glanced around. No one else was in sight. It was serene, silent except for the occasional squabbling of the swans gliding on the lake behind her. Willow was kneeling on a white blanket spread over the grass, resting on her heels. Her backpack was sitting a few feet away. She reached into it and removed a small glass vial, placing it on the material in front of her. After a long period of hesitation, the vial was joined by a large blade, the metal glinting in the morning sunlight, donating a menacing undercurrent to the proceedings. Willow sighed deeply, unhappily. She wished she didn’t have to do this. But the spell required it, so she had to. Willow shut her eyes and concentrated. Now was not the time for cowardice.



They had less than a week until Samhain. The night when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest.



The night that they were going to bring Buffy back.



Keeping her eyes closed heightened her other senses, the gentle caress of the wind against her cheek, the sound of the grass rustling behind her. She began to speak.



“Adoni, ellumae, pinae. Adomi, ellumae, pinae. The Gods do command thee from thy majesty. Oma balamen, adoni, ellumae. Come forward, blessed one. Know your calling.”



From behind a tree, the fawn appeared. It gaily trotted across the green blades, moving towards her. Willow opened her eyes, staring at it as it approached, holding out her hand.



“Come forward, blessed one.”



The fawn nuzzled its head against her outstretched fingers, and she gently ran her hand over its soft, downy coat. It stopped and stared at her, gentle eyes full of trust.



Forgive me, little one…



Willow’s hand flew from the fawn’s back to the knife, and she swiftly brought the blade up in a quick motion across the fawn’s throat. A terrified, rasping cry escaped its mouth and its body buckled. Then it was still. A red mist coated the sleeves of Willow’s blouse, crimson droplets slowly running down her hands. Trembling, she grabbed the vial, capturing the liquid as it poured from the slit in the fawn’s throat. The violent shaking of her hands served only to coat them in more blood, and although the container was soon filled her trembling persisted.



Willow placed the vial back on the blanket, screwing it shut. She frantically looked around once more. She was still alone. Her eyes fell to her hands, stained from the act of violence. She felt hot vomit rise up her throat and glanced away from the macabre scene, stuttering as she finished the last part of the ritual.



“We th-thank you for your h-humble offering. I-in death, you give life. May you find wings to the kingdom.”



Her gaze returned to her hands. She could wash them, but they wouldn’t be clean.



*****



“Got all your stuff?” Tara’s voice jolted Dawn from her thoughts.



“Huh?” Dawn replied.



Tara smiled. “Your school stuff. We’re there.”



“Oh, sorry. Yeah, I’ve got my bag. Ready for another day of soul-destroying tedium.” Dawn pouted.



Tara’s face fell, switching from cheerful friend mode to worried Mom with impressive rapidity. “Is everything okay, Dawnie? There isn’t anyone giving you problems, or too much work?”



“No. Honestly, Tara, I’m fine. I’d be more worried about me if I actually wanted to go to school. Just having your standard teenager anti-education thing.”



“Okay, if you’re sure you’re fine.”



Dawn nodded and reached for the Jeep door handle, opening the passenger door. She was halfway out when Tara spoke again.



“Dawn, how about you and I go for a movie and milkshakes at the weekend? Have a break from all the, um, soul-destroying.”



Dawn smiled and nodded. “That’d be nice,” she uttered softly. Tara smiled warmly back at her, full of maternal affection.



“Okay. But for now, you’d better get going or you’ll be late to class.”



Dawn acknowledged her with another brief nod before stepping away and pushing the door shut, giving Tara a wave before proceeding up the steps to school main entrance. Reaching the doorway, she paused, obscured by the masses of students teeming around in their desperation to avoid receiving the withering teacher glares that accompanied being late. The Jeep tyres rolled back into action and the vehicle disappeared from sight. Dawn quickly bowed her head down and strode away back down the steps before heading in the opposite direction.



*****



Giles took one last sip from the china mug before returning it to the saucer. He was drinking tea, of course, although it had to be said that given his jet lag and the Council’s constant rearrangements of their meeting, coffee would have been far preferable. The caffeine would have also aided him in staying awake while Travers prattled on. Quentin sat opposite him, taking a sip of his own tea while staring somewhat smugly at Giles over the rim of the mug. Giles fought the urge he was having, a desire to hit Travers repeatedly with large and heavy objects. He wouldn’t be able to look so smug if his face was missing.



But those were the actions of Ripper, not Rupert Giles, the stalwart Watcher. The failed Watcher, he thought bitterly. Travers set his mug back down and picked up his papers, the rustling returning Giles’ attention to him.



“Right, I believe that’s everything. The power of the Key was activated by an agent of Glorificus, the barriers began to come down, and the Slayer threw herself into the portal in order to close it. We have confirmed sightings of a Tombas Dragon and several Me’khlit demons entering our world through the portal, but these have been dealt with by Council operatives. The Slayer has died, and therefore it is possible that there may be a new one somewhere.”



Travers ran his fingers along the lines, checking everything once more. Of course, the papers were much more detailed, but everything had pretty much been summed up. Giles had nothing left to say. When Quentin finally dismissed him, with his typical arrogance, Giles was relieved. Reliving the moments in which the girl he loved as his own daughter had died had shattered him. He needed time to rest and to grieve for her once again.



Because Buffy Summers was dead, and she wasn’t coming back.



*****



Tara sat at dining room table and frowned, typing on the laptop. Her left leg was propped up on a chair, still a bit sore from her previous ghoul encounter. The front door swung open behind her and startled, she jumped up. Willow entered, clutching her bag tightly, her body language defensive. She visibly brightened upon seeing Tara. Tara got up, limping slightly, and the two embraced.



“How’d it go?” Tara inquired, still holding her. Her voice sounded muffled.



“Oh, it was fine. One vino de madre, straight up, on the rocks.” Willow pulled out of the hug and sat her bag down by the table. “How about you? Any luck finding the Urn? And how’s your leg? You look all limpy.” As Willow tightened the clasp on her backpack to ensure it would stay shut, she caught sight of redness smeared across her wrist. She quickly pulled her sleeve down to cover the bloodstain, glancing at her hands to make sure there were no more traces of blood on them.



“My leg’s fine,” Tara reassured Willow, returning to the computer while Willow dealt with her bag. “ But limited luck with the Urn, I’m afraid. There are lots of references to the Urns of Osiris, but they nearly all say that they were destroyed.” Tara brought up a web page and gestured for Willow to read it. Willow fiddled with her sleeves again and leant over, pressing her wrists to the table. Tara continued. “According to this one, only five were ever created, in honour of the resurrection of Osiris himself. I think he was the first Egyptian mummy. He was murdered by another God named Set and, um, chopped up. The Goddess Isis, Osiris’ wife, found all his parts, except for his, y’know…” she blushed slightly and gestured down “… and put them all back together. In commemoration, the Urns were created, blessed with the power to return the dead to life. But they were too powerful, and fearing their misuse if they fell into the wrong hands, all but one were shattered. The location of the last Urn, if it still exists, is unknown, although this page says something about it.” Tara clicked on another link and another page sprung up.



Willow smiled. That’s my girl, she thought. Web-surfer extraordinaire. Not bad when you consider that six months ago, she barely ever went online. It was just another of the ways they had enriched each other’s lives. As Willow scanned the page, three words leapt out at her: Boca del Infierno.



“It’s right here in Sunnydale,” she whispered.



“Really?” Tara asked, breathless. “Wow. Actually, that’s quite convenient, isn’t it?”



*****



Janice stared at the clock, then at the empty desk next to hers. It was the fourth time Dawn had skipped in the past fortnight, and she was pretty annoyed about it. If Dawn was going to play hooky, she could have at least told her about it so they could truant together. But no, and now she was stuck in math class doodling on a piece of paper and dodging the saliva that sprayed from Mrs Oldale’s mouth every time she spoke. She glanced once more at the clock, willing the hands to move to signify the end of the period. There was still half an hour to go. She hoped Dawn was having fun, wherever she was. Because the teachers were most definitely noticing her absences, and she doubted it would be long until Dawn was in serious trouble.



*****



Dawn slowly paced along the grass, clutching a red rose to her chest, head bowed in silent reverence. The monument loomed in front of her. She paused as she felt a wave of grief course through her, then took a deep breath before resuming her journey. Finally, she was there. She kneeled in front of the headstone, placing the rose on the smooth marble as an accompaniment to the pebbles Willow had placed there after the funeral. Her hand ran down the cool stone, fingers tracing the engraved letters. “Hey, Buffy,” she whispered softly.



*****



Willow walked through the dangling bead curtain into the main body of the bar. A grimy yellow neon sign proclaimed the place to be ‘Willy’s Place, formerly ‘The Alibi’. She was on her own, as Tara had gone to the Magic Box in order to obtain some conjuring powder for the spell. The bar was quite empty, save for a few horned demons drinking various concoctions. There were no vamps, which was understandable as it was still daytime. The owner, Willy, stood behind the bar, drying off a pint glass. As she approached, he set the glass down and eyed her up and down appreciatively.

“Hel-lo, beautiful. How can I help ya?”



Okay, thought Willow as she slid onto a bar stool, keep it cool.



“I’m looking for some information,” she said evenly, maintaining eye contact with him so he knew she was being serious.



Willy frowned and glanced sideways at the demons across the room. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Depends if the price is right.”



“Price?”



“Mm-hm. Cash-for-service deal, no exceptions.”



Damn, and I’m money-less, Willow cursed mentally. She paused briefly, then spoke again, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips in what she hoped was a threatening expression.



“How ‘bout you tell me what I want to know in exchange for me not hurting you?”



Willy raised an eyebrow and smirked. “So you’re a vampire? That’s interesting, ‘cause I could’ve sworn you just came in out of broad daylight. Hundred bucks, no less. Although I might be willing to drop the price for you. I have this cousin – he does photos – the artistic, naked kind of photos. Strictly high-class stuff. Interested?”



Willow wrinkled her nose in disgust, then quickly regained her composure. She didn’t really want to have to do this, especially as she had to conserve her power, but it was necessary. She rose from her seat, concentrating intensely.



“What are you do- Oh, God,” Willy spluttered as he noticed her eyes, which had become a magically induced black. Red energy crackled around her hands. He stepped back. “Fine, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. Just don’t make me no toad or anything.”



Willow smiled triumphantly and relaxed, resuming her normal appearance. Of course, she’d never have hurt him, but he was now scared enough to tell her what she wanted to know. “Urn of Osiris,” she said slowly. “Here in Sunnydale. Where?”



“I don’t know,” he replied.



“Are you lying to me?” Willow asked him flatly.



“No! No, I mean, there’s a guy who might know. Collector of some sorts, he’s got all this magic junk. I figure you’re looking for some magical doohickey, he’ll know about it.”



“Do you have an address?”



“Sure.” Still panicked, he took a small notepad out from behind the bar and scribbled on it with a biro, tearing the page off and handing it to her. Willow eyed the address, then folded the paper up and placed it in her pocket.



“Thanks,” she said. Her tone was still vaguely cool and menacing, but it masked gratitude.



She turned and walked out, feeling very pleased with herself.



*****



Tara finished browsing the Magic Box shelf and finally found what she was looking for – conjuring powder, shed by Himalayan trolls. She picked up the bag and walked to the counter. Xander was sat at the table, while Anya was in her favourite spot – right behind the cash register.



“Did you find it?” Anya enquired, somewhat pointlessly, as she could see the bag in Tara’s hand.



“Yep.” Tara handed it over to Anya, who rang it through the register. Xander got up and approached.



“Is that for – y’know?”



Tara nodded slowly. Xander looked uncomfortable and they stood in silence for a moment.



“$9.95 then, please.” Anya held out her hand and Tara placed a ten-dollar bill in it. Xander frowned.



“You know, Ahn, considering that powder’s gonna help bring our friend back from the dead, perhaps you could let Tara have it for free, or perhaps a bringing-back-the-Slayer discount?”



Anya placed the note in the register and handed Tara her change and receipt. She spoke apologetically. “Sorry, but I can’t. We’re not making much of a profit lately – haven’t had a single customer in lately, not since that freaky little man with his leg bone and protection spell, and even then Willow scared him off.” She placed the powder into a carrier bag and handed it to Tara. “So it means I can’t afford to give any friend discounts.”



“That’s fine,” Tara said soothingly. There was another awkward silence.

“Tara…” Xander began.



“Yes?”



“ I wanted to ask you about the spell. I know we talked about it the other week, but this is heavy stuff and I’m still a bit unsure. It is gonna her bring back, right? One-hundred percent, no zombie-substitute, no nasty demony Buffy?”



“It’ll be her. Completely and utterly. The spell should work flawlessly. The simplicity and accuracy of the spell is part of the reason it’s so hard to do in the first place. With the Urn, you could bring back anybody, provided you had the magical power to do so. That’s why there’s only the one left, and it’s why it’s so hard to find.”



“But Willow could do it, right? She could work the mojo?”



“She could. She will. It’ll work, I promise. We’ve quadruple checked everything.”



Xander nodded, apparently satisfied with her explanation.



Yet another pained silence. Tara tried to think of a new topic.



“Um, so Anya, how’s your yoga class going?”



A grin spread across Anya’s face. “I’m a bit sore, but most definitely satisfied.”



*****



Willow stared at the paper in her hand, then at the door in front of her. Pausing to draw a deep breath, she knocked slowly. She heard footsteps approach, then the sound of a bolt being moved out of place. The door swung open to reveal a man standing there. He appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties, dark blond hair expertly gelled into place. Attractive, in a guy way. Brown eyes regarded her suspiciously.



“Hello?” His voice was low, questioning.



“Hi!” She uttered brightly, giving him a big smile. Noticing his questioning expression, she lowered her voice, speaking with a more serious tone. “I mean, hi.”



“Sorry, I don’t want any cookies or insurance.” He moved to pull the door shut.



“No!” Willow cried. “I’m not selling anything. I’m looking for something… special, and I heard you know about, y’know, special things.”



“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”



“Urn of Osiris?” Willow asked desperately.



The man paused, then coolly looked her over. He moved back, clearing a path for her to enter the apartment.



Willow hesitantly walked forward, and the man pulled the door shut behind them, gesturing that for her to sit down. Willow sat herself in an armchair. The walls of the room were a rich, dark green. There were bookcases against every wall, crammed with texts. Of greater interest, a number of strange artefacts were enclosed in glass display cases. The man sat down opposite her.



“Well, you entered the apartment without an invitation, so you can’t be a vampire, and my protection spell would have vaporised you had you been a demon. Therefore, you must be a human. Apologies for the formalities. It’s not often I get human callers here.”



Willow forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m completely with the humanity. Enjoying it immensely.”



“I heard you say you’ve an interest in the Urn of Osiris?”



“Yes.” She nodded enthusiastically.



“I doubt it’s my place to ask, but why on earth would you want that? Resurrection spells aren’t to be toyed with. I mean, I’m assuming you’re a witch. Why else would you want it?”



Willow felt immensely uncomfortable with the idea of revealing everything to a man she’d only just met, who she didn’t even know the name of.



The man picked up on her discomfort. “Well, you don’t have to say if you don’t want to. Not that I’m bothered. I have the Urn, if you want it. Funny story, actually… although I doubt you want to hear it.”



“You mean, I can have it?” Willow asked incredulously. This was way too simple. There had to be a catch.



“There’s no catch,” he noted. “I’m a collector. I specialise in magical artefacts. Of course, it would be very kind of you if you could obtain something for me in return. In thanks for my generous offer.”



“What kind of thing?”



“A talisman. It’s called the Eye Of Horus. Apparently in Sunnydale. I’ve scoured a few places, but no luck yet. I figure you could do the hard work for me.” He got up and removed a book from the case on the opposite wall, opening it and showing her a diagram. “You get me that talisman, I give you the Urn. Simple as that.” He grinned, showing white teeth. Underneath his clean-cut image, Willow could sense something else. It disturbed her slightly.



“Can I see it? The Urn, I mean.”



He nodded. “Certainly.” He waved his hand and it shimmered into view on the table in a blast of green energy. Willow almost leapt out of her seat. But it was there, the pale coral stone engraved with hieroglyphs. The Urn of Osiris. The key to the spell.



“I’ll do it. I’ll get you that talisman.” Willow instantly regretted making a promise so rashly.



He nodded. “Excellent.” He gestured towards the Urn. “I’ll keep it here for you.” He stood up, and Willow followed suit. The man extended a hand. Willow hesitated before shaking it.



The grin was flashed again. “Nice doing business with you.”



“Um, yeah, nice with you too.” Willow couldn’t make out what to think of him. On one hand, he was a complete, and creepy, stranger asking for a potentially powerful talisman, but on the other, he had the Urn. The complete, real deal accept-no-substitutes Urn of Osiris.



I’ll do it, she thought. It was rash, and quite possibly stupid, but the ends would surely justify the means. Willow nodded and followed the man as he led her to the apartment door.



“By the way,” he told her. “My name is Gabriel.”



Very fitting. He kinda looks like an angel. A creepy, possibly evil angel.



“Oh. Thanks, Gabriel.” Willow mumbled before walking back down the hallway. The door shut behind her, but she didn’t hear it, lost in thought as she attempted to process the encounter.



*****



It was dark now. Willow briskly paced along the sidewalk, the clacking of her boots on the concrete echoing into the blackness. Reaching the entrance of the Magic Box, she pushed the door, surprised to find it unlocked. It was pitch black inside. Cautiously moving in, she became aware of a low ‘ah’ sound. Taking another step forward, she heard it again. The main body of the shop was empty, although she could now see a thin strip of light underneath the door connecting the training room to the shop floor. The ‘ah’ noise continued, getting louder as she moved forward, down the two steps so that she was stood next to the cash register.



Oh, Goddess. Someone’s broken in to the shop and they’re doing something in the training room!



She advanced, getting closer to the door. The low moans had been joined by a strange squeaking sound.



Only a few steps away…



Slowly, she stretched out her hand, placing it on the doorknob, ready to turn…



“Oh, my God! Xander!” Anya’s cry came from within the training room. Willow startled. A sensation of relief poured through her, followed by a wave of eww-ness as she realised what the moaning and squeaking sounds were being caused by.



Can’t they keep it to the bedroom?



She grinned, realising that now would be a good time to hunt for her talisman, it if was there. She knew the layout of the shop well enough to navigate it in the dark.



Right. If I were a talisman, where would I be?



Willow guessed that it would be best to begin with the loft area of the store. That was where all the decent things were. She tiptoed away from the door and toward the stairs, slowly progressing up them, one at a time, shifting her body weight against the banister to prevent any telltale squeaks. After what seemed like eons, she reached the top. Kneeling, she scanned the shelves, grinning triumphantly as she saw it. It was exactly like the diagram Gabriel had shown her. Willow reached out and took it, the metal cool in her hands. In the darkness, she could just about make out the price tag.



Two hundred dollars?



Willow frowned. Good job she wasn’t going to pay for it. She slipped the talisman into one of her leather jacket’s pockets and made her way back downstairs, trying not to giggle at the symphony of moans from the back room.



As she neared the front door, there was a large crash from the training room. She didn’t pause to investigate, though. Her hand was wrapped around the talisman. It was time to collect the Urn.



*****



As per usual, Willow led patrol that night. Tara was walking next to her, with the Buffy-bot, Xander and Anya in close proximity. They were in Restfield cemetery, their eighth and final stop of the evening.



When Willow had showed Tara the Urn, she’d been both happy and questioning. Willow hadn’t told her the full truth, just that she’d bought it from a Sunnydale collector for a discount price. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell, but Tara had a tendency to worry, and she had enough on her mind with the upcoming spell, a sore leg, and Dawn-duty. Willow simply figured that what Tara didn’t know couldn’t hurt her.



The group rounded the last set of gravestones. Willow was glad patrol was over. She was tired and aching, and magically drained from dealing with the ten-or-so vamps they’d already encountered. Her head still hurt slightly, from where that ghoul had hurled her into a gravestone the previous week. She turned and addressed them. “I think we can leave it here. I doubt there’ll be any more vamp act—“



A terrified scream cut her off. It came from further down the cemetery, beyond a pair of mausoleums. In one fluid motion, the group began to run towards the sound, weaving past gravestones and shrubbery. There was a group of twelve vampires surrounding three teenagers, two girls and a boy. Another boy lay a few feet away from them, dead.



The Scoobies instantly moved into vampire flanking procedure. Xander and Anya took out crosses and stakes and moved to the right, while Buffy-bot took the left. Willow and Tara stayed central, forming a ring around the group. They began to chant their sunlight spell. The vampires spread apart, still encircling the teenagers.



Two vamps flew at the soon-to-be-weds, both viciously punching Xander in the face. He fell, the cross flying from his hand. Anya plunged her stake into one of the vamps’ backs, and it disintegrated. Enraged, its partner gave Anya a backhand to the face that sent her flying back several metres, landing in a crumpled heap against a gravestone. Xander fought against the weight pinning him down, but could not move. The Buffy-bot was taking on a group of four vamps, expertly punching and kicking using the new code Willow had programmed into her.



Three more vamps came at Willow and Tara. In fear, each gripped the other’s hand tightly and they both chanted the final lines of the spell. Willow held out her hand victoriously, expecting the sunlight to come forth, but nothing happened. A brief crackle of white energy, then nothing. Willow’s eyes moved from her hand to the vamps, terror on her face. The vamps grinned and charged them, closing the few-metre gap instantly. Panicking, Tara thrust out her stake, which a vamp promptly ran into, dusting itself. Two more pinned Willow down. Her arms flailed, blindly trying to hit them. One dusted as Tara drove her stake through its back. The remaining vamp lunged for Willow’s throat, driving its fangs into her neck. She cried out in pain, and Tara promptly staked the third vamp, kneeling by her lover, pressing her jacket sleeve to her neck to stem the bleeding.



More screams pierced the air. Tara gaze flew from Willow’s neck to survey the rest of the scene. Four vamps were left. Anya and Xander were battling one, while Buffy-bot took on two more. The final vamp took this in and ran off.



What happened to those teenagers? Tara thought desperately. Did they run off?



She stood, and her question was answered by three bodies.



Oh, Goddess…



The final sounds of skirmish faded, and one by one, the other Scoobies saw the corpses.



Anya clung to Xander, staring at the white faces, the blood pouring from their necks. The ex-demon felt nauseous. To think that only three years ago, she had been doing that to people. Anya buried her head in Xander’s shoulder, and he cradled her protectively.



“Are-are they okay?” Willow’s voice was shaking, full of pain. She slowly stood. Tara was unable to take her eyes off the bodies.



“Oh, God!” Willow began to cry. “Oh God, Tara!” She clung to Tara, shattered. They sank to their knees, Tara gently holding Willow as she sobbed, her own face a numb mask of grief and worry.



*****



Tara sat on the bed in her nightdress. Willow was finishing up in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. Tara had taken Willow to the hospital to get her neck checked out. Luckily, she hadn’t lost much blood. But Willow hadn’t spoken a word since she’d seen the bodies.



It wasn’t as if Willow had never seen a body before, but this had been the first time that someone had died while they were on patrol. Tara knew that Willow would take that to heart, and it was why she was so upset.



Willow entered the bedroom silently and sat next to Tara. Their eyes met, and Tara brought her hand up, running it through Willow’s hair, auburn strands tickling her fingers.



“It wasn’t your fault, Willow.” Tara spoke softly, but the words were firm.



“Wasn’t it?” Willow asked, her emerald eyes wide, innocent yet broken. “I should have been able to do that spell. But I messed up, and now people are dead. Because I didn’t have the power.”



“Listen. You weren’t to know. We’ve been working so hard lately, fighting vampires, demons, ghouls… think about how much good we’ve done.”



“That doesn’t make those people any less dead.”



“I know… I know. But you’re not to blame. There’s only so much one person can do. It’s like, this is a nightly war. We can’t save everybody. We can’t always help. But the important thing is, that just because you can’t always help, it doesn’t mean you should stop trying, or that your unsuccessful attempts were worthless. Willow, you are so powerful, and you’re the bravest, kindest person I’ve ever met. What happened tonight doesn’t change any of that. You’re still wonderful.”



Tara pulled Willow in for a hug, and they held each other in silence for several minutes.



“Thank you, Tara,” Willow uttered softly.



“Do you want to talk any more?”



Willow shook her head. “I just wanna sleep.”



Tara nodded and turned off the light. She and Willow slid under the covers, holding each other tightly. Tara kissed the top of Willow’s head reassuringly, gently stroking her hair.



*****



Willow glanced at the clock. It was three in the morning. She hadn’t had even a moment’s sleep. The graveyard scene kept replaying in her head, the spell failing, the lifeless bodies.



Her face hardened in determination. She’d slipped up with that spell. She’d expended too much power lately, and she needed more.



And she had an idea as to how she could obtain it.

Every time you walk away, I pretend that I'm okay

[justin]

This is a great part. It really helps set up the general direction of the story.



I liked the first scene, you showed what Willow was feeling very well.



Gabriel is interesting in a creepy kind of way. he's going to make a much better villian than Rack was.



You've managed to express the different characters very well.



So well done

Anya in a wimple...I'd pay full admission for that. Gods Served And Abandoned - by Antigone Unbound


You know the worst thing about people in a relationship? The fact that they're in a relationship. - Hilda Spellman

[chilled monkey]

Well done! That episode was amazing!



You did a very good job showing Willow's remorse about killing the deer and her guilt about being unable to save the innocents. This is what the on-screen version should have done.



I am also very impressed with how you've morphed Rack into Gabriel. You have turned a rubbish, 2D character into an interesting, layered villain.



And YES to Tara dusting some vamps! She was so great, protecting her lover like that.

[LostWithoutTara]

Justin and chilled monkey:



Thank you so much for the positive feedback. I was a bit worried as it'd been so long since the last update, but now I'm all moved to university and settled in hopefully any future parts I write won't take so long.



I'm glad you like the first scene. One of my principal complaints with Bargaining (and S6 in general) was the way they ignored the subtle effects and changes that events can cause to one's character in favour of heavy-handed after-school specials. I'm happy that you think I conveyed Willow's emotion well.



And yay for Gabriel likeage. Rack really annoyed me (I mean, c'mon, but a 'c' in front and you get 'crack'. Marti was really inspired then ) and I wanted to work with the basic premise of that character and make him more interesting and ambiguous.



Again, thank you very much for your kind words.

Every time you walk away, I pretend that I'm okay

[Spot]

I just read all of the updates so far, and i really like them. Season 6 on The TV show was kinda dissapointing. but you add good explanations and stuff(for lack of a better word, I'm tired) to it. Cant wait for the next one; gabriel scares me and i cant wait to see how you handle the ressurection and magick addictions. Thanx!

-michelle

[LostWithoutTara]

Hey Spot!



Thanks for leaving the feedback, and I'm glad you like where we've taken it so far. I completely agree with you on the real S6, and hopefully we'll be able to avoid all the problmes that plagued it in the rewrite. Can't wait for the resurrection, you say? Well that just so happens to be the next part!



Again, thanks for the reply!

Every time you walk away, I pretend that I'm okay

[justin]

• Season Six - The Rising Darkness: Episode Four

• Author of this part:Justin

• Email address: msparshatt@yahoo.co.uk

• Feedback: Would be wonderful

• Distribution: Just here, please.

• Spoilers: Up to and including 'The Gift'

• Rating: PG-13 - although it may rise

• Pairing: W/T, X/A, B/S

• Disclaimer: Joss and ME own all characters.

• Special Thanks - LostWithoutTara for betaing.



Episode Four - Reu Nu Pert Em Hru



Preparation



Dawn came down the stairs slowly, a large bag slung over her shoulder.



Eyeing the bag Willow asked, "Are you sure you've got everything?"



Dawn rolled her eyes impatiently, "For the hundredth time, yes I am sure."



"I just want to make sure that you don't have to come back for anything."



"It's not that..." Dawn stopped and a sly smile formed on her face. "Oh I see what you're up to."



"You do?" Willow said, starting to panic slightly.



"Yes, you just want to get me out of the way so that you and Tara can do some spells."



Willow blushed as she realised what Dawn was saying, "No, that's not..." Willow stopped and calming herself she said, "Dang you've seen through our cunning scheme."



A car horn sounded outside, "That'll be Janice's mom." She grabbed her bag and headed for the door.



Coming in Tara said, "Have fun."



A knowing smile formed on Dawn's face as she replied, "You too."



When Dawn had gone Tara asked, "What was that about?"



"I'll explain later." Willow glanced at a clock then asked, "What time did we say that we'd meet the others?"



"We've got to meet them in an hour."



"Right we'd better start getting everything ready."



***



Xander dug his hands into his pockets and glanced up at the sky, which was overcast with clouds. "Perfect night for a bit of grave robbing, wouldn't you say?"



"Just as long as it doesn't start raining," Anya said. She glanced round the grove and asked, "Where are they anyway?"



"We're here." Willow answered as she and Tara approached.



"Well then let's get started." Xander said, grabbing a spade and moving towards the grave.



"Xander wait!" Willow shouted.



Xander put the spade into the ground. A bolt of electricity hit him and threw him several feet. Anya ran over to him, "Xander are you okay?"



"I think so." As Anya helped him up, "What hit me?"



"We tried to warn you," Willow said. "We haven't removed the wards from the grave yet."



Tara began sprinkling some dried herbs on the grave as Willow chanted, "Release the charms that guard our friend, let this spell come to an end." There was a brief flash of light then nothing.



"Is that it?" Xander asked. Willow nodded. "Well then let's get started."



They began digging. No one spoke while they were working, the only sound was their shovels digging into the earth. They tried their best to avoid looking at the others. Not wanting to know if their friends had the same look of revulsion that they knew that they had.



After they had been digging for some time Xander's spade clunked as it hit something hard. Xander sighed, "That's it."



"Okay everyone, move away." Willow said and they all climbed out of the grave. Willow and Tara held hands and began chanting in Latin. The coffin began to shake then wobble. After a while it rose up out of the grave. Willow and Tara guided it a short distance away, then set it down. Once the grave had been refilled Willow and Tara levitated the coffin again and Xander guided it out of the grove and to the car.



***



Xander and Anya went into the Summers' house first to make sure that the coast was clear. Once they had Willow and Tara guided the coffin into the living room and set it down in the middle of the sacred circle. Willow and Tara had set it up earlier as part of their preparations, drawing it in salt. They had made it nine feet across, which had meant moving the furniture about. As it settled down Tara gave a slight sigh, relieved to have the burden removed. Willow gave her hand a squeeze then went over to where Xander was prizing the nails up from the coffin. With them removed he lifted the lid. "Urgh" Xander gasped at the smell that came out of it.



Ignoring the smell Willow stared down at Buffy and whispered, "It's hard to believe that she's dead. She just looks like she's sleeping."



"I don't know Will, she looks a bit decayed to me." Xander pointed out, "The spell is going to fix that right?"



"Yes it will."



Anya walked over to join them and shuddered with revulsion while Tara hung back, not wanting to see her friend in this state.



They all took up their places. They moved to stand around the coffin , with Willow standing at the head and Tara opposite her. Xander and Anya stood stood on either side. Willow opened the bottle of vino de madre and poured it into the urn. She then dipped her finger into the liquid and carefully drew a pattern on her face with it. While Willow was doing this Tara had taken the conjuring powder and sprinkled it on Buffy's body.



Willow picked up the urn and said, "Mighty Osiris hear my plea. Return to us what was taken in error."



"Return to us." The others echoed.



"Return to us what was gone before it's time."



"Return to us."



"Return the slayer to her rightful place." Lifting the urn above her head Willow threw it down at the floor.



A ring of red light formed around them.



Upstairs, Miss Kitty Fantastico woke up and hissed at an unseen intruder.



Elsewhere Dawn's conversation with Janice was silenced as she felt a chill running down her spine.



The urn shattered.



Everything went black.



The Spell



Waking up Tara rolled over to put her arm round Willow. She was surprised to find that she was alone in bed. Sitting up she said, "Willow?"



Coming in from the bathroom Willow said, "What's wrong?"



"I just wondered where you were."



"Well we need to hurry if we're going to get to Buffy's on time."



"Buffy?"



"Yes. She invited us to lunch, remember?" Seeing Tara frown Willow said, "Now Buffy's not that bad a cook."



"But Buffy's dead."



"What? No of course she's not." Willow sat down next to her and said, "Did you have a dream?"



Tara nodded.



***



Waking up Tara rolled over to put her arm round Willow. She was surprised to find that she was alone in bed. She was even more surprised to find that she wasn't in bed, but was lying in a desert. It was completely barren without any signs of vegetation. Standing Tara found that the sand was hot and if she stood in one place for too long then her bare feet began to burn. The wind blew the sand in her face making her eyes water. She took a couple of steps then stopped, not sure what to do. She asked herself, "How did I get here?" Then, looking down at the long dress, that reached down to the floor, she was wearing she asked, "And why am I wearing this?" It was a creamy white colour and made out of a fine, satiny material Not getting any answer to these questions, Tara decided she should get moving. She picked a direction and began walking in it.



After she had been walking a while Tara stopped and looked around. It felt as though she had been walking for hours yet she hadn't made any progress. Also the sun hadn't moved at all during that time. Off to one side she could just about make someone out through the blowing sand, standing at the top of a sand dune. Shielding her eyes she saw that it was Willow. Running up to her Tara said, "Willow you're here."



Willow just nodded, not turning.



Tara walked to her side and asked, "Where are we?"



"Sunnydale." As Willow said this Tara noticed the remains of a couple of buildings, one of which was clearly the Magic Box. For a moment Tara felt a bit like Charlton Heston at the end of The Planet Of The Apes.



"What happened?"



"We did." Turning Willow took Tara's hand saying, "Come on there's a lot for us to do."



***



Xander woke up wondering why his bed was so hard and why it felt like there was a rock under his head. When he was fully awake he found that it was because there was a rock under his head. Sitting up Xander found that he was by the roadside. He picked himself up and dusted himself off. Looking around he found that the road stretched into the distance in both directions and on either side there were tall, lifeless trees at irregular intervals. The air was hot and dry, and he had to squint a little due to the brightness of the sun. Xander could hear the trees rustling despite the fact he couldn't feel any breeze. For a moment Xander thought that some of his workmates had gotten him drunk and left him here. Then it came back to him, the spell. Looking around Xander called out, "Hello, is anyone there?" Not getting an answer, Xander started down the road.



***



Anya was woken up by the buzzing of an alarm clock. She reached over to turn it off before moving back down into bed murmuring, "Just a few more minutes." She was just starting to go back to sleep when it all came back to her. Anya shot up in bed. The walls of the room were a sterile shade of white. To Anya's left there was a machine that was making an irritating beeping sound. Thinking about the spell Anya worked out how she had gotten there. Obviously something had gone wrong with the spell and she had been hurt. Anya wondered where the others were, if they were here somewhere. "Hello?" Anya called out, wondering why there was no one there. Not getting any answer Anya got out of bed. She was surprised to find that she was wearing the same clothes she had been when they had done the spell, "Well it's better than a hospital gown." Anya went out into the hallway shouting, "Hello! Is anyone there?" Again there was no answer. "Great, this is just like that film with the plants."Anya muttered to herself. Anya turned and walked down the corridor, stopping as she heard something behind her.



A young man staggered towards her, making a strange choking sound as he moved, "Help me." He gasped. Turning he bent over and was sick, a stream of black insects pouring out of his mouth.



"Oh god." Turning Anya ran down the hall, bumping into someone standing in the way, "What are you..." Then Anya saw who it was, "Halfrek."



"Hi Anya."



***



When her vision returned Willow saw that the room was the same as before, "Well that was easier than I expected. So did it..." Willow stopped as everything went black again.



When Willow could see again she saw that she was alone in the room, "Where is everyone?" Glancing in the coffin Willow noticed that it was empty, "Buffy?"



***



Tara's feet slipped in he sand and she stumbled a couple of times as she struggled to keep up with Willow. Tara couldn't understand why she was having so much trouble while Willow seemed to be gliding along the surface of the sand, "Where are we going?" She asked.



"We have to find Buffy." Willow called back as she stopped to let Tara catch up. A few feet away the sand began to move. Tara began to ask what it was but before she could speak a pair of hands burst up out of the sand. A moment later a creature pulled itself up out of the ground. It looked human, save for the fact that it's skin was rotting. In a couple of places bone was visible. Willow raised her hand, "Incendre." The creature burst into flames. After a few seconds it was gone.



"What was that?"



"A zombie."



"How?"



"People were dying but there was nowhere for their spirits to go to, so they returned to their bodies, reanimated them."



Tara gasped as Willow turned round and she saw her face clearly, "Willow, your eyes."



Willow smiled sadly, "When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you. Come on, more of these things will be coming." Turning Willow continued away.



***



Xander stopped and wiped the sweat from his brow. He felt like he had been following this road for days without seeing anything. Sitting on the ground he rested his head in his hands, wondering if he'd be stuck out here forever. His head jerked up as he heard an anguished howling sound. It seemed to be coming from nearby, but there was no one around. Standing Xander started going again. Only to stop as he spotted a large tree next to the road, further in that the others. While they were all dead this one was lush with foliage, large apples hanging from it. He was sure that it hadn't been there before. "Where'd that come from?" Moving closer he noticed there was some one hanging from the tree by one foot. "Uh, hi."



"Xander you made it."



"Anya? What are you doing up there?"



"Oh just hanging around."



"Are you really Anya?"



Anya undid the rope round her foot, gracefully spinning round as she fell to land on her feet. "Of course. Who else?"



Nodding Xander picked one of the apples and asked, "Hey is this that tree? You know the Adam and Eve one?"



"No it's the other one." Anya knocked the apple out of his hand, "You don't want to eat that. Immortality is not all it's cracked up to be." Xander opened his mouth as if to argue, but Anya stopped him saying, "Come on, we've got to find Buffy."



"We do? How?" Xander asked, as he started to follow Anya.



***



"Halfrek what are you doing here?" Anya asked her friend. Halfrek appeared to be human, not showing any sign of her natural demonic visage.



"I'm here to help you."



"Help me what? And why you?"



"Help you find Buffy, or her akh at least."



"Her what?"



"Obviously I mean the totality of her transfigured self." Halfrek explained in a condescending tone.



"Well that clears that up. Though you haven't explained why you?"



"Why not me? It's not as though anyone else would."



"What's that supposed to mean?"



"Come on, we didn't become vengeance demons because we wanted to make friends."



"I have friends." Anya argued, not sure why it was so important to her.



"You've got a boyfriend who's only going out with you because he couldn't get anyone else and a group of people who only tolerate you because you're dating their friend."



"That's not true, they do like me."



Halfrek patted Anya on the head, "There there. Of course they do." Turning she said, "Well come on we don't have all day."



***



Glancing around at the spaces where her friends had been, Willow reasoned, "Well I guess that they're off doing their part of the spell." She turned to the empty coffin, "But it'll be for nothing if I don't find Buffy." Stepping back Willow began to wonder where she should look. Willow jumped as something small and black and white leapt up in front of her. "Miss Kitty, you scared me." Willow said as she bent to stroke the cat. Miss Kitty ran away from Willow. Stopping and sitting down she meowed loudly. "Sorry I don't have time to play with you." Miss Kitty stretched and began clawing at the carpet. "Stop that." Willow admonished. Seeing that she had Willow's attention Miss Kitty meowed again then ran out of the room.



Willow was about to go back to working out where Buffy might be when it occurred to her that Miss Kitty wanted to show her something. At first she was going to dismiss it but she then remembered what she knew about cats being important in Egyptian mythology and how they were responsible for guarding the underworld. Quickly running out of the room Willow was relieved to see Miss Kitty waiting for her.



***



Tara stopped as she and Willow came to a large pyramid. Its sheer sides were made out of a rough, blood red stone. As Tara trailed her hand across it's surface, it stained her fingertips red. "Don't tell me we have to get up there."



"Don't worry it shouldn't be too hard."



"Speak for yourself." Tara muttered as she began looking for the best way up.



Willow laughed lightly and asked in a condescending tone, "What are you doing?"



"Climbing up."



"Why not just use magic, silly?"



"No. Magic isn't just a short cut. Sometimes you have to do things the hard way."



"Of course it is. What else is it?" Willow started to float upwards, "Are you sure?"



Tara stood firmly, a little unnerved to note that the colour had drained from Willow's face, leaving her skin with an unnerving translucent pallor.



"Oh well. Meet you at the top." As Willow disappeared from view Tara started to climb up.



***



As Xander followed Anya he noticed that it was getting colder. "Oh great it's getting dark." Anya moaned.



"What, it's still perfectly light." Xander argued. Even as he said it though he noticed that the sky was starting to darken. It was only then that he realised that even though he had been walking for days it had been perfectly light the whole time. "This is one freaky place."



"Come on." Anya took Xander's hand and they began running, "Before they find us."



"They? Don't tell me there are vampires here."



"Okay there are no vampires here."



"Good."



"Apart from the ones following us." As she said this Xander sensed something approaching from behind them. He fought the urge to turn, as every sense told him it was right behind them, just reaching out... Xander speeded up, still clutching Anya's hand.



"Please tell me we're almost there."



"Almost."



***



"So you're going to help me find Buff? That's why you're here."



"That's right girlfriend."



"Then maybe you could start by telling me why we're in a hospital."



Halfrek looked bemused at this, "This isn't a hospital it's an art gallery. Dedicated to you and all the work you've done."



"I'm not an artist."



"Of course you are. I mean look at that." Halfrek pointed into one of the rooms. It was a square room with white walls and floor and ceiling. There was a glass barrier covering the doorway. The only thing in it a man was strapped to a chair. His head was shaking back and forth and he seemed to be trying to scream, but something was stopping him. Moving closer Anya saw what it was, he didn't have a mouth.



"Or this."



Halfrek spun Anya round to look in the opposite room. It was the same as the other room save in this one there a man was struggling vainly against a large snake. Looking down she saw that it was growing from between his legs.



"These are the people that I cursed, aren't they"



"Of course. Now come on, we've got a lot more to see."



Halfrek led Anya down the hallway. Anya closed her eyes, not wanting to see what was in the rooms. Halfrek stopped suddenly, "Oh this is one of my favourite. You really have to see this."



Opening her eyes Anya saw a stern looking man staring angrily at a frightened woman. "I don't understand."



"A couple of hundred years ago that man left his wife for that woman. His wife wished that her husband would recognise the witch who had seduced him for the demon she really was. The thing is you did such a good job it didn't just affect him. It affected his sons, grandsons, in fact all his male descendants." More lights came on revealing a line of scared and beaten looking women. At the end of the line there was a young girl. As she started walking towards the door Anya saw that she had a black eye. Then it was gone, replaced by a gash on her cheek, a moment later her arm was in a sling. As she got closer the girl grew older and older.



"No!" Anya pleaded, hoping that she was wrong about who it was, "Please no." Then as the girl reached the door Anya could no longer deny who it was. She took a step forward, stumbling to her knees. Raising an imploring hand she whispered, "Oh god Tara, I'm so sorry."



***



Miss Kitty stopped by the basement and started scratching on the door. "So we have to go in here?" Willow said as she opened the door. As she turned the light on she was surprised to see not the basement but a long staircase. "Well this is new." Willow took a cautious step onto it, worried by the fact that there was nothing to either side of it. Miss Kitty ran fearlessly down the stairs while Willow followed more cautiously. All the while she repeated to herself, "Don't look down, don't look down."



After what had seemed like hours she reached the end of the stairs, coming to a large square of stone. "So where am I? And where's Buffy?"



Suddenly a wooden bridge appeared. "Oh you have got to be kidding me." As Willow walked to the bridge she saw someone walking across it. "Buffy?" Willow shouted, but the figure didn't seem to have heard.



***



As Tara pulled herself up onto the top of the pyramid Willow called over, "Hey you made it."



Tara just nodded before collapsing down on the ground.



Willow walked over to her and asked, "See, wouldn't it have been easier using magic?"



"Where did the energy for the spell you did come from?"



Willow shrugged, "Does it matter? Where does it normally come from?"



"Normally the power for a spell comes from the ritual you use to invoke it. You didn't do any ritual so where did the energy come from?"



"From me. Or maybe from the universe or somewhere else. I cast the spell and it worked. Surely that's all that matters."



Tara stood up, "No you're very wrong."



"Very wrong? You mean like putting a spell on your friends, tampering with their free will?"



"That was wrong of me. I know that now but I was so frightened..." Tara stopped as something appeared in front of her. It was a stone block with someone lying on it, covered in a white sheet. Tara remembered that part of Buffy's spirit was a duplicate of her physical body and guessed that this was it. "This must be Buffy's Ka." She said to herself.



Willow nodded, "That's right. It's the spiritual copy of her body."



Tara moved to take the sheet, only to stop as Willow grabbed her wrist. "No, not yet."



"When?"



"You'll know, when everyone else has done their part."



***



Up ahead Xander and Anya saw a plinth with a small bird sitting on it. It was completely black, even it's beak. It didn't seem out of the ordinary, save for its eyes which looked almost human. Looking at them Xander had the feeling they seemed to be familiar.



"That's it. That's Buffy's Ba. It's represents the mobility of Buffy's spirit as well as her identity." Anya gasped.



"It is? It does? It's kind of small."



"Quickly." Anya let go of Xander's hand, "You have to get it." Xander turned towards Anya, "Go on."



Xander ran to the plinth and reached for the bird, "Gotcha." He stopped with his hand just over the bird as he saw a woman riding towards him. She was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. She had very long golden hair and a smooth complexion. Then Xander saw her eyes. His heart froze at the pain he saw there. Her eyes were red rimmed and there were tears flowing down her face. She raised a shaky hand to point ahead of her and gave a low, mournful wail.



Turning Xander gasped, "Oh god no." A pair of vampires had grabbed Anya by the arms and a third was about to bite her neck. "Get the hell away from her." Xander ran towards them as fast as he could but he wasn't getting any closer. Painfully slowly the vampire bit into Anya's neck. Anya's eyes glazed over as it drank her blood. Then they were all gone. Xander fell to his knees. "What the hell is happening?" He sobbed. The bird landed on his shoulder and gave a sympathetic chirp.



***



"Please no more." Anya begged.



"What's wrong?" Halfrek asked, not understanding, "You should be proud. I mean look at all the wonderful things you've done."



"They're not wonderful, they're horrible, I'm horrible. I'm just a monster."



Halfrek looked down at the ground. When she looked up her face had chaned to her demonic visage. "What has gotten into you? You should be revelling in the carnage you have caused, not blubbering about it like a pathetic mortal."



"But I am just a pa... a mortal."



"You were a demon for much longer."



"Not any more."



"So if I gave you the chance to come back, to have all your powers back, you wouldn't want it?"



"I'm happy now."



"Of course you're in love." Halfrek walked away singing, "Xander and Anya sitting in a tree, Xander and Anya sitting in a tree. Xander and Anya sitting in a tree, D-Y-I-N-G." Anya started to follow Halfrek but stopped as she saw a room with nothing in it. Peering in she spotted a ball of light floating around it, "So that's her akh. Doesn't look like much."



***



Willow crossed the wooden bridge as quickly as dared. When Willow had stepped onto the bridge she had made the mistake of looking down. She had not been able to see anything beneath her, just a black void. Now she was keeping her eyes fixed on Buffy. The boards creaked ominously as she stepped on them and the bridge swayed as if being blown by a breeze, "Buffy stop."



Without slowing Buffy said, "I have to go. It's my time."



"But it isn't. Your death wasn't natural." Buffy stopped for a moment Willow thought she had convinced her. "I have never told an untruth" Buffy said before starting again. After a few steps she said, "I have never taken a human life." Buffy took another step, only for the plank to break. Dashing forward Willow grabbed Buffy before she could fall. Pulling Buffy away from the gap Willow said, "Come on let's get out of here." Looking at her friend Willow saw that Buffy was wearing the clothes that she had been buried in. She gasped as she looked into Buffy's eyes. There was no sign of life in them.



Aftermath



As Willow's vision returned she was in the living room with everyone there. "Wow, that was intense."



Xander grabbed Anya and hugged her, "Thank god you're okay."



Tara walked up to Willow and grabbing her face she stared into her eyes. She smiled with relief to see they were their normal green.



"Did it work?" Anya asked. For a moment no one moved, all of them afraid to find out.



After a while Tara went to Buffy's body and checked her throat. She frowned then tried again. "No pulse."



"No way." Xander said, "We can't have gone through all that and it not worked."



"I guess that it just wasn't..." Tara stopped as Miss Kitty jumped onto Buffy's chest. Buffy's eyes opened and she took a gasping breath. "Buffy can you hear me?"



"Where am I?" Buffy asked in a weak voice.



"You're safe." Tara answered. She and Willow helped Buffy up. She frowned slightly as she noticed that she was standing in a coffin but then seemed to forget it. As she stepped out of the coffin her legs almost gave way and Willow and Tara had to hold her up.



Willow said, "She's probably going to be weak for a while. She needs to get some rest."



Xander grinned at the sight of his friend alive again, he still couldn't believe that it had worked. Part of him wanted to rush over and hug Buffy, but he was still too emotionally and physically drained from the spell. Moving a little in Xander's arms Anya murmured, "Take me home."



"Sure Anya." They said their goodbyes then left.



Willow and Tara helped Buffy upstairs to her room. Both of them wanted to say something but didn't know what. Like Xander they were both feeling a mixture of elation at the fact that the spell had worked and exhaustion because of the ordeals they had gone through. So instead they helped Buffy into bed and watched her as she fell asleep. Looking up Willow managed a small, triumphant smile, "Well it worked."

I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had. - mad world

[chilled monkey]

WOW! That was a really good episode. Brilliant foreshadowing of what's going to happen, especially in Tara's vision.



And the idea that Anya was responsible for the Maclay family legend, that is such a clever idea.



Well done!

[LostWithoutTara]

Justin, that was a great part. The thread with Anya was especially good, and having Anya be responsible for the 'demonity' of the Maclay women was truly inspired.



I also really enjoyed the Restless like feel and the abstract nature of the tests, which also excellently foreshadow what's to come. Well done!

Every time you walk away, I pretend that I'm okay

[TaraBaby77]

WOW!!! That was very very intriguing. Very indepth and full of meaning. The continuity of each chapter was awesome!!! Hey!?!?! Great fic. Keep them updates comin'. =)

Aaron

'TaraBaby77'

[Unknown]

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