THE POWER OF THREE
PART THIRTEEN
By DragonWriter17
Rating: PG-13 for all parts except 11 and 12, which are R due to language
Disclaimer: All of the materials borrowed from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel belong to Joss Whedon and to the entities and companies associated with their creation. I have borrowed them for creative and entertainment purposes only. No compensation has been or ever shall be received for the writing below. No copyright infringement is intended.
My Website: http://www.oocities.org/dragonwriter17/
Feedback: Yes, but only if it’s of the non-flamey variety: DragonWriter17@aol.com
Distribution: The Mystic Muse, Near Her Always (If you are interested in posting my story on your site, please contact me first for permission.)
Spoilers: The end of BtVS Season 4’s “Wild At Heart” and beyond.
Pairings: Willow/Buffy/Tara
Author’s Notes: I have kept to the BtVS/Angel canon in some ways, borrowing directly from aired episodes; however, I have also made significant changes: deleting certain storylines, moving some, changing others, as well as adding some completely original plots. You may want to read my stand-alone story “Out Of Shadow Into Light,” which tells my version of Tara’s life prior to her arrival in Sunnydale; it is the backstory for Tara for this series.
Number of Chapters: 13
Complete: 1-13 (now complete—but there is a sequel planned, so stay tuned!)
Series Summary: After Oz leaves Sunnydale, Willow turns to best friend, Buffy, and new friend, Tara, for comfort, resulting in a remarkable new relationship for all three. Amidst the daily dangers of life on the Hellmouth, the three women forge bravely ahead, unaware that their relationship has been predestined.
Chapter Summary: : After helping the White Hats destroy the Master, Buffy and Tara find themselves stuck in the Wishverse, when Rachel, the witch who cast the original spell that brought them to this dimension, dies in the hospital. While they hunt for another way home, Willow and Spike attempt the same thing in the “real” Sunnydale, using the spells that they got from Doc. Once Buffy and Tara do make it home, they are faced with two dilemmas (neither of which goes as they expect): telling Willow about what happened between them in the Wishverse and dealing with N’Faius, who finally emerges from the Hellmouth.
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PART TEN PART ELEVEN PART TWELVE PART THIRTEEN
PART THIRTEEN
“Rachel’s dead?” Tara asked worriedly.
“Yes, I…ummm…I’m afraid so,” Giles replied.
“But…she’s the witch who cast the spell that brought us here,” Buffy stated.
“Yes, that’s right,” Giles said.
“Then that means…” Buffy started.
“…we’re stuck here,” Tara finished.
“No, no, not stuck,” Giles added, “just delayed. We’ll simply have to find another witch who can cast the spell again. It won’t get you back at the same time you left, but it will get you back.”
“M-M-Maybe I could cast the spell,” Tara offered.
“Oh, I’m sure you could,” Giles said, “but if you do the ritual, you’d be unable to accompany Buffy. The spell doesn’t allow the caster to be transported.”
“Well, that’s out then,” Buffy said.
“Buffy, I think I should do the ritual,” Tara countered. “I could at least get you home.”
“No!” Buffy objected. “I’m not leaving you here alone.”
“Buffy, it’s the only way, and--”
“No, it’s not. It can’t be,” Buffy said. “We’ll find another way.” Buffy paused and then looked Tara in the eyes. “When we first arrived here, you refused to go home without me. If you couldn’t do it then, how do expect me to do it now?”
Tara didn’t drop her gaze. She just softly said, “Because you’re needed.” Tara took a deep breath. “Our Sunnydale needs you. Something very bad is gonna come through the Hellmouth any day now. What’s gonna happen if you’re not there to meet it?”
Buffy looked away, shaking her head, unwilling to leave Tara.
“We’ll find another witch to send me back later,” Tara continued. “Or you can get Willow to try and bring me back.”
“Wait a minute,” Faith interrupted. “Your Willow’s a witch?” When both Tara and Buffy nodded, Faith went on. “Well, she must’ve had some kind of natural talent for it, right? Wouldn’t that mean that our Willow has it, too? Couldn’t you teach Red here how to do the spell?”
“It’s not that simple,” Giles stated. “It’s more than just reciting words.”
“What if you helped Willow, Giles? You’ve done magic before,” Buffy suggested. Then she turned to Tara. “If Willow and Giles can hold down this end, could you hold down the other on the fly?”
Tara thought for a moment. “It might work, but it would be risky.” Tara looked at Vamp Willow.
“I’m game if you are,” Vamp Willow said.
Tara looked at Buffy.
“Me too,” Buffy replied.
Tara and Buffy looked at Giles, who shrugged.
“Very well,” the ex-Watcher agreed.
* * *
Back in regular Sunnydale, in the alley behind the magic shop, Willow watched nervously as Spike worked on the locked back door. When he had broken it open, the two of them entered the closed shop.
After coming through the storage area in the back, they entered the main part of the store. Willow went immediately behind the counter while Spike turned on the lights. Willow opened the book she had gotten from Doc and scanned the page once again.
“According to this, we should do the locator spell first, completely separate from the retrieval spell,” Willow said. She turned and began searching the drawers and cubby-holes behind the counter.
“What’s it gonna do, just pop out a handy map?” Spike replied skeptically.
“No,” Willow countered. “The location is stored in a crystal, which we’ll then use in the retrieval spell.” Willow bent down to search the lower shelves.
“What kind of crystal?”
“This kind,” Willow said, standing up and turning toward the vampire.
In her hand lay a multi-faceted yellow crystal about the size of a tangerine. Spike reached out and took it from her.
“So this little gem’ll do the trick?” he asked, examining the jewel closely.
“That and a few other things,” Willow said, returning to search for the remaining items needed for the spell.
* * *
Meanwhile in the Wishverse, Tara and Buffy finalized their plans to attempt the ritual that would send them back home. When their preparations were complete, the two were ready to make their goodbyes. They shook hands with Riley and a few of his Initiative team before moving over to Faith and Vamp Willow.
“Well, I guess this is it, huh?” Faith said.
“I guess so,” Buffy replied.
“You did good,” Faith said sincerely.
“You too,” Buffy echoed, as both Tara and Vamp Willow grinned their agreement.
As the four of them headed in Giles’ direction, the Slayers paired off and took the lead.
“Faith,” Buffy said as they crossed the room, “no matter what happens, always remember: in this reality, you killed the Master. Here, you’re the Slayer. You can be more than just a fighter, you can be a leader. Believe that.”
Faith looked at Buffy uncertainly. Then she smiled and nodded, clapping Buffy on the shoulder. “I’ll do my best.”
A few yards back, Tara and Vamp Willow followed, not speaking at first. Finally, Tara broke the silence.
“Ummm, Willow?” Tara said, touching the vampire’s arm, causing her to stop and face her.
“Remember how you said you thought our Willow had done something to you?”
“Yeah,” Vamp Willow answered, drawing out the word, concern very evident in her voice.
“Well, I think I may know what happened,” Tara said.
Vamp Willow crossed her arms and waited.
“When Willow cast the spell that brought you to our world, I think your essences got a little mixed up in the process. I know this is gonna sound kinda crazy, but I think you got part of her soul.”
Vamp Willow’s mouth opened in shock. “I-I-I have a soul?”
“Well, no, not exactly…a piece of a soul maybe,” Tara tried to explain. “Think of it like a seed. It’s tiny and buried under dark earth, but given time, it will grow. It’s already growing, in fact.”
“How do you know?” Vamp Willow asked, a vulnerable, nearly pained look on her face.
Tara placed her hand over the vampire’s heart. “I can see it,” she answered.
Vamp Willow glanced down at Tara’s hand and then back up at Tara’s face, an expression of wonder in her eyes.
* * *
Back in regular Sunnydale, Willow finished her preparations for the locator spell. When she had everything ready, she turned to Spike.
“Now remember, this could take a while,” she warned. “So no matter what happens, don’t break the circle.”
Once Spike had nodded his assent, Willow stepped through the gap in the circle of salt she’d laid out on the floor of the magic shop. Once within the circle, she sealed the gap and sat down with her back to the north, her book to her left and her supplies to her right.
She sprinkled a concoction of herbs about her, chanting in a Nordic tongue of some kind. After that, she picked up a charcoal stick and began to draw on the floor. She first drew a large Y, with the stem of the Y pointing towards herself.
“With this mark, my will be known,” Willow intoned in English as she continued drawing.
At the end of each stroke of the Y, she added a triangle, connecting it by its apex so that the base was on the outside edge of the diagram.
“With this mark, my will be done.”
Next, she placed a small pink candle inside each of the two charcoal triangles at the top of the Y. She put the yellow crystal in the triangle before herself.
“For Buffy,” Willow said, lighting the candle on her left. “For Tara,” she added, lighting the candle on her right.
With the candles burning brightly, Willow placed her fingertips on the yellow crystal and began speaking in a clear and firm voice. As Spike looked on, she returned to speaking in the Nordic language for multiple lines. Then she paused and took a deep breath.
“May that which was lost be found again!” she commanded in English. “Reveal! Reveal!”
At once, a wave of golden energy burst from the floor as if shooting through tiny pores in the tiles. As soon as it struck her body, Willow jerked and stiffened as if she were being electrocuted. As the witch’s body shuddered under the power of the spell, Spike watched with concern but made no move toward the circle.
* * *
In the Wishverse, in the alley where Buffy and Tara had originally appeared, Giles and Vamp Willow sat in a circle drawn in chalk on the concrete. Sans wheelchair, Giles sat at the north, while Vamp Willow sat at the south. Outside the circle, Buffy sat at the east, and Tara sat at the west. Nearby, Faith and Riley and a few of the other White Hats stood watching nervously.
As Buffy and Tara meditated, lending their energies to the proceedings, Giles and Vamp Willow conducted a revised version of the ritual that Rachel would have done. When they reached the pinnacle of the spell, the former Watcher and the reformed vampire joined hands, causing a blue light to emanate from the circle.
Buffy and Tara rose to their feet, and Tara joined Buffy on the eastern side of the circle. They moved a few feet away and stood face to face, latching their arms tightly around one another. They kissed deeply but briefly, then turned their eyes back to the circle.
The blue light rose above Giles and Vamp Willow and formed a small bubble, which floated above their heads. After pulsing and growing in size, the bubble fell in on itself and then streamed toward Buffy and Tara. The stream split to pass around the couple, then rejoined several yards away, coalescing into a large swirling portal.
Buffy and Tara stared at the portal, its cold wind whipping around them. They glanced back at the circle as the force of the portal grew stronger.
Tara met Buffy’s eyes and yelled over the sound of the portal. “No matter what happens, don’t let go!”
Buffy grinned. “Don’t worry, I won’t!”
Before Tara could grin back, the portal shot out a tendril, captured the two of them, and yanked them inside.
* * *
Within seconds, Buffy and Tara found themselves floating in the ether. It was cold and dark, with patches of swirling light both in the distance and nearby. As they flew slowly through the in-between, Tara concentrated on maintaining her end of the spell. Buffy could tell that Tara was laboring.
“You can do it, honey,” Buffy encouraged. “Take us home.”
“I’m trying, but it’s hard,” Tara replied with a groan. “I can’t--”
* * *
Vamp Willow grimaced as she struggled to keep the spell together. Giles was sweating and breathing hard.
“Giles…” Vamp Willow said with a warning voice.
“Hold…fast,” Giles gasped.
Faith ran to the edge of the circle. “What’s happening?”
“I’m losing them,” Vamp Willow cried. “I can’t--”
* * *
In the magic shop, Willow’s face twisted in pain as the energy continued to swirl around her.
“What is it?” Spike called from the edge of the circle. “What’s happening?”
“I-I-I felt something, a connection,” she forced out. “But now it’s gone!” Willow nearly doubled over as the force of the spell racked her body. “I can’t…hold on…much longer…”
“Don’t give up!” Spike yelled.
* * *
In the Wishverse, the portal suddenly disappeared in a flash. Both Vamp Willow and Giles fell backward onto the ground. Faith and Riley broke the circle and knelt beside the exhausted casters.
“What happened?” Faith asked.
“They’re gone,” Vamp Willow replied.
* * *
In the in-between, Tara jerked and cried out, then leaned her forehead against Buffy’s.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
* * *
Willow’s face began to crumble as she feared that she would have to end the ritual. She hung her head, breathing hard. Just when she reached her breaking point, her head popped up.
“Wait!” she cried to Spike in a hopeful voice.
* * *
Buffy gave Tara a reassuring smile.
“Don’t be,” the Slayer said. “Just kiss me. Kiss me and think of--”
“Willow!” Tara cried.
As Tara kissed Buffy soundly, the pair began to accelerate, moving at a lightning speed through the ether.
* * *
Faith gripped Vamp Willow’s arms tightly and pulled her to a sitting position. Then she looked right in her eyes.
“What do you mean ‘they’re gone’?” Faith asked in a frantic voice.
* * *
In the magic shop, a blue portal exploded behind Spike, sending him flying into the opposite wall. As the spell was broken, Willow heaved forward, falling face down on the floor. As Willow gasped for air, Buffy and Tara tumbled through the portal and landed in a heap.
* * *
Vamp Willow was unable to answer. But as Riley helped the paralyzed Watcher raise up, Giles answered for her.
“They’re home,” he said with a happy but tired smile.
* * *
Willow groggily lifted her head and pushed herself up. When her eyes were able to focus again, she saw Buffy and Tara slowly untangling themselves.
“Buffy! Tara!” Willow cried ecstatically.
“Willow!” the two shouted simultaneously.
Willow crawled to her girlfriends and wrapped them into a joyful but tearful hug.
“Oh, Willow,” Tara said in a choked voice, “I thought we were lost.”
“I found you,” Willow answered, squeezing them tightly once again. “I will always find you.”
When they finished hugging, they separated, and Willow kissed each one soundly. Then she repeated the process several times until they fell into giggles.
“We missed you so much,” Buffy said with tears streaming down her face.
“I missed you too,” Willow replied, gazing deeply into their eyes. “I love you, both of you, so much.”
While Willow was looking at Buffy, Tara glanced at Willow’s neck. She stared in horror at the twin punctures and the bloody bruise around them.
“Willow,” Tara started, pointing at the redhead’s bruised neck.
When she saw Tara pointing at the bite mark, Willow waved her hand in dismissal. “Oh, that was just--”
“Spike!” Buffy exclaimed in alarm, when she saw the blonde vampire standing behind Willow.
Buffy rose to her feet, pulling the other two with her and then pushing them behind her. They kept their hands on Buffy’s shoulders as the three of them faced Spike. The vampire stood before them with a look of utter shock on his face.
“What the hell?!” he said with a mixture of anger and confusion in his voice.
“I’m gonna kill you for real this time!” Buffy threatened as she began to move from the group to attack Spike. She stopped when Willow pulled her back.
“Buffy, no!” Willow cried. “Don’t!”
“Why?” Buffy asked.
“Spike helped get you back,” Willow explained.
“What?!” Buffy exclaimed incredulously.
Spike seemed unphased by Buffy’s earlier threat. He remained in complete and total disbelief. He gestured at the three of them and opened his mouth, but nothing came out at first. He tried again.
“You mean…the three of you…are…?” Spike let his question trail off as he stared at each one in the group. Then he threw his hands up and rolled his eyes. “Bloody hell!” he grumbled loudly as he turned on his heel and stomped from the room.
With identical looks of surprise, the three women watched the vampire storm out. When the shock had worn off, Buffy asked, “What was that all about?”
“Who cares?” Willow asked, pulling her girlfriends into another tight hug. “You’re back, and that’s all that matters.”
* * *
At Giles’ apartment, the entire Scooby gang gathered for a happy reunion and a trading of stories. Willow explained what had happened after Buffy and Tara had disappeared—the things they had tried to get them back, the attack by Spike, and his surprising decision to help bring Buffy back. Buffy and Tara related the events that occurred in the alternate reality of Anyanka’s Wishverse—the White Hats and their war with the Master, their eventual success against him, and the spell that eventually got them home.
At one point, Willow stopped them. “Now let me get this straight,” she said. “My doppelganger and Faith? Together?” Willow looked shocked, then shuddered at the thought.
“Come on, Will, it’s perfect,” Xander teased. “It’s two homicidal maniacs in love. It’s a match made in heaven.”
“If they don’t kill each other first,” Anya added.
“They weren’t homicidal maniacs,” Buffy said. “They were good. They were on the right side in their world.”
“Tell me more about this ritual the Master was to finish,” Giles interjected, getting the discussion back on track. “The Council records are sparse at best on the details of the his plan to open the Hellmouth. This recent fragment sheds some light on the matter, but…”
“Well, the other Giles did have a document that described a Dominus Ostiorum,” Buffy replied.
“Dominus Ostiorum,” Giles repeated, deep in thought. “Master of Doorways?”
Buffy put the tip of her index finger on the end of her nose and pointed at Giles.
“Yes, he told us that the Hellmouth isn’t connected to just the next demon dimension over,” Tara explained. “It can be connected to any demon dimension out there. And the Dominus Ostiorum can totally control where the Hellmouth opens and what’s allowed through.”
“The best part, though,” Buffy added sarcastically, “is that anything that passes through the Hellmouth is subservient to the one who opened it.”
“Good Lord!” Giles exclaimed.
“Instant demon army,” Anya noted quietly.
“Wait!” Xander interjected. “Does this Domino’s Osteoporosis work both ways? I mean, is the Big Bad that’s threatening to crash our party trying to do on his side what the Master tried on this side?”
“In all likelihood, yes,” Giles commented. “The timing can’t be a coincidence.”
“If the timetables between the other Sunnydale and here are the same, we’ve got about a day to figure out how to stop the Hellmouth from opening,” Tara noted.
Giles pulled off his glasses and massaged his forehead. “If only I had the document that my counterpart was referencing…”
“Yeah,” Buffy said disappointedly. “If only we’d thought to make a copy to bring with us,” she said sadly. Then she handed a stack of sheets over to Giles. When he looked up in surprise, she said with a teasing grin, “See what you can make of it?”
Giles’ face burst into a big smile, and he instantly put his glasses back on and grabbed the sheets excitedly.
“It’s in Latin, and we didn’t have time to translate,” Buffy added. “What with helping take down the Master and all.”
“Well, since the British man is going to be busy with the translatin’, I say we head for the Bronze and get busy with the dancin’ !” Xander suggested. “If the world’s gonna end tomorrow, I say we celebrate while we can.”
“Oh, Xander,” Buffy said with a groan, “I’d love to, but I’m bushed.”
“Me too,” Tara admitted.
“Me three,” Willow added. “How about a rain check on the dancing and a date with waffles in the morning?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Xander replied with a grin.
* * *
After leaving Giles’ apartment, Willow walked snuggled between her two girlfriends. As the threesome slowly and awkwardly proceeded down the sidewalk, Tara let out a giggle.
“What?” Willow asked.
“As much as I like this arrangement,” Tara said, “it does make for slow progress.”
“Tara’s right,” Buffy commented. “How about if we just hold hands?”
Willow whined but complied.
When the hand-holding trio reached the intersection, Buffy tried to turn left down the street which would take them to the university, but Willow pulled her back.
“Where are you going?” Buffy asked.
“To my parents’ house,” Willow stated. “It’s closer. Plus, my parents are still out of town, so we’ll have it all to ourselves.” Besides, they have a king-sized bed, she thought with glee.
* * *
Once the three were inside the Rosenberg home, Willow stood with her back toward the dining room and motioned in the direction of the kitchen.
“You guys hungry?” Willow offered.
Buffy shook her head. “No, I’m too tired to even eat.”
“Me too,” Tara said.
“Okay, let’s get upstairs then,” Willow replied.
After they went up the stairs, Willow led them to her parents’ master bedroom. Buffy and Tara sat on the edge of the king-sized bed. Willow dug through the drawers of her parents’ dresser until she found a couple of large old t-shirts that belonged to her father.
“These should work,” she said, tossing the shirts over to Buffy and Tara.
“Thanks,” Buffy replied.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I need a shower first,” Willow said. “I’ve still got crypt dust and vampire spit on me,” she added with a laugh.
“Yeah, a shower sounds good,” Tara commented.
“I’ll use the bathroom in the hall, but you guys can use the master bath,” Willow said. “Everything you need is in there. The way my parents travel, they’ve built up quite a supply of mini-soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and don’t forget, those handy shoe-polishing cloths, a must-have in anyone’s travel kit.”
Buffy and Tara chuckled, and Willow slipped out of the room. Once she was gone, Buffy and Tara looked at each other nervously.
* * *
A little later, when she had finished her shower, Willow returned to the master bedroom. She found a freshly-showered Tara and Buffy sitting on the end of the bed, holding hands, clearly in a deep discussion.
“We have to tell her,” Tara said urgently.
“I know, I know,” Buffy replied, “but can’t we just tell her in the morning, o-o-or later, like after the impending apocalypse?”
“Tell me what?” Willow asked.
Buffy and Tara jumped at Willow’s question and instantly released their hands. Neither would meet Willow’s gaze.
“What is it?” Willow asked worriedly, sitting across from them on the small bench before her mother’s makeup table.
Buffy and Tara finally looked up. They glanced at Willow and then at each other and then back at Willow.
“Something happened while we were away,” Buffy began, “something we didn’t mention at Giles’ apartment.”
“W-W-We didn’t mean for it to happen,” Tara interjected, “but…it did.”
Willow waited expectantly, without saying a word.
“While we were in the Wishverse, Tara and I…” Buffy trailed off.
“We…ummm…we sort of…” Tara tried to finish.
“Oh, come on, spit it out,” Willow prompted. “How bad can it be? I mean, what did you do, sleep together or something?”
Buffy and Tara gave a horrified expression then ducked their heads, suddenly finding their own hands to be the most interesting things in the room.
When Willow realized the truth, her eyes widened in shock, and her mouth fell open. She slowly stood and walked away, keeping her back to her girlfriends.
Buffy and Tara exchanged pained looks and stood, but didn’t move in Willow’s direction.
“We’re so sorry, Willow,” Tara said. “We never meant to hurt you.”
For the longest time, Willow made no response. Eventually, she turned and walked back to her girlfriends, her eyes downcast.
“I…I don’t know what to say,” Willow whispered. “Except…”
Willow lifted her face. On it was a huge grin.
“Woo-hoo!” the redhead exclaimed as she leapt on her girlfriends and tackled them onto the bed. As she knelt over them, she kissed both of them right and proper and then sat on her heels with a very satisfied look on her face.
Buffy chuckled and said, “Okay, not the response I was expecting, but…yay!”
“Y-Y-You’re not mad?” Tara asked.
Willow shook her head. “No, don’t you see? Now we’re a full triangle and not just a caret.” Willow grinned happily.
Buffy and Tara stared at Willow with a confused look on their faces.
“Here, let me show you,” Willow said, backing off the bed and pulling Buffy and Tara back to a sitting position.
Willow walked to her mother’s makeup table and picked out a lipstick. She opened it and drew three dots on the mirror. She labeled the one on the top with a W and the two on the bottom with B and T.
“See this is what we were,” she lectured, drawing a line connecting W to B and another connecting W to T. “It’s a caret—an insert symbol.”
Then she drew a line connecting B to T. “And this is us now,” she said with smirk as she closed the lipstick tube with a click. She pointed to the completed triangle. “Ta da!”
Buffy’s mind immediately flashed to her Slayer dreams. First, she saw Willow in the ruined high school library holding up her painting of the triangle. Next, she saw Tara standing beside the glowing Hellmouth as she placed her palm on Buffy’s chest and said, “Follow your heart.” Finally, Buffy was in the church, kneeling at the communion rail with Willow and Tara to her right. She watched as Giles served them, pronouncing as he did so, “Believe in the Blessed Three…Trust in the Holy Trinity…For by Love are we saved.” The last image was that of the stained glass behind the altar: a shield, blood red in color, triangular in shape with its apex pointed down, divided into quadrants by a white cross, in its center three gold rings linked together.
Willow and Tara noticed Buffy’s zoned-out expression, and when she jerked out of her reverie, they jumped in response.
“Buffy, what is it?” Willow asked.
Buffy shook her head to clear it. “Just remembering something,” she answered, “about my dreams.”
Buffy went on to remind them of the details of her Slayer dreams. When she was done, let out a deep breath.
“I think there’s more to us than just your everyday, run-of-the-mill unconventional relationship,” Buffy stated. “I hate to be clichéd, but I think we were meant to be.”
“I hate to be the one to say ‘I told you so’,” Willow said with an unrepentant smirk, “but I told you so!”
Buffy and Tara laughed indulgently, then Tara sobered and said, “W-W-We should talk to Giles about this.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Oh, I can already see him polishing his glasses.”
“We can talk to Giles tomorrow,” Willow said firmly. “But right now, I need a big dose of snuggle-time with my girlfriends.”
Buffy and Tara readily agreed, and the three of them turned out the lights and crawled in the king-sized bed. They arranged themselves into a Willow sandwich, with Buffy on her left and Tara on her right. With quickly murmured I-love-you’s, the threesome settled into a warm and comfortable snuggle. Within seconds, they were all asleep.
* * *
When the early morning light sifted through the blinds on the bedroom windows, Willow gradually roused. She did a few slow-motion blinks before finally becoming fully awake. When she glanced to her left and right, she found two wide-eyed and grinning faces staring at her.
“Hey,” she said in greeting. “How long have you been awake?”
“I don’t know,” Buffy said with a shrug. “Not long.”
“We were just enjoying the view,” Tara added.
Willow smiled happily and kissed each of them.
“We missed you,” Tara said.
“Yes, bunches and bunches,” Buffy agreed.
“I missed you too. At least you two had each other,” Willow replied. “I had…Spike,” she added with a grimace.
“You had Spike?” Buffy said in mock revulsion.
“No!” Willow quickly denied. “There was no…having of any kind between me and Spike,” she insisted. “He sucked my blood, and that was it.”
Tara giggled at the redhead then grew serious. “Even though Buffy and I were together, we never stopped thinking of you.”
Buffy raised an impish brow at Willow. “In fact, we thought a lot about what we were going to do with you once we got home,” the Slayer said as she began trailing her index finger down Willow’s chest and stomach.
“Y-Y-You did?” Willow asked in a slightly higher pitched voice.
“Mmm-hmmm,” Tara said, nuzzling behind Willow’s ear.
“Oh, my,” Willow squeaked.
* * *
A seated Initiative scientist poured over a set of readings scrolling by on his computer screen. Another researcher stood looking over his shoulder.
“This isn’t good, Jack,” the seated one said. “We should call in.”
“Mmm…not yet, Stan,” the other replied. “Let’s wait until the figures are at--”
The researcher who was standing stopped when he felt the earth tremble beneath his feet. A low rumble, like that of distant thunder, accompanied the tremor. The two scientists looked at one another and then at the others in the room. Another tremor quickly followed.
“Make the call!” Jack ordered Stan. “Marks, Stein! Check the cameras, get the video going!”
Two other white-coated researchers jumped to the task of activating the various video cameras mounted throughout the room. They struggled to keep the cameras locked in position as the small quakes continued to shake the ground.
“Yes, ma’am,” Stan said into his radio mic. “We’ve got video feed coming…now!” he added when Marks and Stein gave the thumbs up.
“Captain!” Jack bellowed to the highest ranked soldier in the room. “Get your men in here, pronto!”
“Yes, sir!” the captain replied and began speaking into his headset.
A bright light began emanating from the crevice. With each tremor, the light became brighter.
“There appears to be something emerging,” Stan reported into his mic as he stared at the Hellmouth.
* * *
Outside the condemned school, Lindsey fought to stay on his feet as he observed the Initiative soldiers guarding the entrance. When he saw the guards suddenly leave their posts and enter the school, Lindsey tried to follow. But the earth lurched, and Lindsey was thrown to the ground.
When the quake lulled for a moment between tremors, Lindsey got to his feet and ran for the entrance.
* * *
Willow, Tara, and Buffy didn’t notice the rumblings of the earthquake. They were caught in a quake of their own, a triple-strength love orgy that rocked and rolled until their bodies were covered in sweat.
Buffy was in the center this time. They’d all taken turns in the middle of the sandwich at one time or another, but now Buffy was the focus.
As Willow and Tara brought the Slayer closer and closer to her climax, they felt a similar sensation rise in them. With their mental shields down, each of them was experiencing fully what the others were feeling. So, when Buffy cried out and came, they did the same. After their simultaneous scream of ecstasy, the Three fell out on the bed, totally exhausted.
Tara’s chest heaved as she labored to regain her breath. Finally, in a gasping voice, she said, “Oh god, that was--”
“Awesome,” Willow supplied, equally breathless. “Just--”
“Wow,” Buffy commented before taking a deep gulp of air. “Wow,” she repeated.
After a moment, Willow said, “You know, I think I finally understand that phrase ‘I felt the earth move’.”
“Yeah,” Buffy added, “and the one ‘You rock my world’.”
“Ummm, guys,” Tara said nervously as she sat up in the bed, which was beginning to shake once again from the force of the tremors. “I think the earth really is moving!”
“What?” Willow asked as both she and Buffy also sat up.
The quake immediately picked back up, sending the whole house into a violent shudder.
“Oh god!” Tara exclaimed. “The Hellmouth! It must be opening!”
As the earthquake became stronger and stronger, the three jumped out of bed and threw on their clothes, dodging the shifting furniture and falling objects.
“We must’ve gotten our figures wrong,” Buffy yelled over the sound of the quake. “It’s happening now! Come on!”
On stumbling legs across buckling pavement, Buffy and Willow and Tara ran for the old high school.
* * *
When the worst of the quake was over, the scientists and soldiers stared at the area beside the Hellmouth. There, kneeling on one knee, was a huge figure with his back to them.
His skin was as black as tar and had steam oozing eerily from it. When the creature straightened, his back and shoulders rippled with muscles. He stood, revealing powerful legs as thick as columns. He wore only a heavy chain-mail skirt, which was held about his waist by a wide leather belt. Strong arms flexed next to his sides, and he clenched his clawed hands into tight fists. Suddenly, the figure turned around.
Multiple horns protruded from his forehead and cheeks, and his eyes glowed red. He had large nostrils which moved in and out as he breathed. He sounded like a bull about to charge. When he opened his mouth, his sharp teeth glinted like steel.
The researchers and technicians scampered behind the soldiers, who moved into place before creature. They drew their weapons and trained them on him.
“I…am…N’Faius!” the creature announced in a growling voice.
He took one step toward the soldiers. “And I must feed!” he boomed.
The soldiers opened fire.
* * *
In the Initiative compound, Riley and his team were rushing to don their gear. Nearby, Professor Walsh watched her wall of monitors, a look of horror on her face.
On the screen, a bleeding but basically unphased N’Faius gestured towards his attackers, magically ripping their guns from their hands. Then he grabbed the nearest soldier and thrust his clawed hand into the man’s chest. Energy burst from the contact with the demon lord’s hand, and the man began to shrivel as the life-force was sucked out of him. When the soldier’s body was nothing but a shell, N’Faius withdrew his hand. In it lay the bloody heart of the dead man. The demon lord brought the heart to his mouth and quickly consumed it.
Professor Walsh turned from her monitors and met Riley’s eyes. “Take him down, Agent Finn,” she said coldly.
Riley clenched his jaw. “Yes, ma’am,” he said in a hard voice.
* * *
Lindsey scrambled down the hallway of the condemned school. As he tried to enter the library, he bounced off an invisible force field.
He got as close as he could and looked into the library. Aghast, he watched as N’Faius picked off the trapped soldiers and researchers one by one.
* * *
Outside the old high school, Buffy and Willow and Tara raced to a halt when they saw Giles and Xander waiting outside, each with a bag of weapons beside him.
“Xander, Giles!” Buffy called. “What’s going on?”
“We…we don’t know,” Giles said. “We only just arrived.”
At that moment, an Initiative transport screeched to a stop, and Riley and his heavily-armed team piled out.
“Buffy!” Riley called out to the Slayer.
“Riley, what’s going on?” Buffy asked.
“That Big Bad you thought might be coming up out of the Hellmouth?” Riley answered. “He’s here. He calls himself N’Faius, and he’s slaughtering our research team, so…”
“Riley, wait,” Buffy said, stopping him in place. “If this N’Faius is as bad as you say, you can’t just rush in there. If you do, you’ll get slaughtered, too.”
“What do you suggest?” Riley asked.
“We need a plan,” Buffy said. When she saw Lindsey fleeing the high school, she added, “And I think I see one right now.”
Buffy quickly intercepted Lindsey and stood in front of him. Lindsey froze.
“Oh, look,” Buffy said sarcastically as she dragged Lindsey back to the group. “It’s the man who lost his granny.”
As Buffy and the other Scoobies crossed their arms and glared at Lindsey, he glanced about uneasily. But then he straightened and looked Buffy in the eyes.
“You have to stop him,” Lindsey said.
“Don’t worry, I plan to,” Buffy replied, “just as soon as you tell me what you know.”
“Buffy…” Riley said impatiently, glancing at his soldiers and then the entrance.
“Riley, he knows something, I know he does.”
“She’s right,” Lindsey said. “Now that N’Faius is here, there’s only one way to stop him.”
“We’re listening,” Giles said.
“The Power of Three,” Lindsey said.
“The Power of Three?” Willow said as she and Tara moved to flank Buffy, each touching her on the arm.
“You know about the vulnerability of the Hellmouth and the special Guardian?” Lindsey prompted.
“Yes, well, that’s about all we know,” Giles replied.
“The special Guardian is the Power of Three,” Lindsey said before looking directly at Buffy and Willow and Tara. “It’s you,” he told them.
“Buffy…your dreams,” Tara noted.
“Yes, they all make sense now,” Buffy said.
“What do we have to do?” Willow asked. “To stop this…N’Faius?”
“Close the Hellmouth,” Lindsey answered.
“Oh, gee, is that all?” Xander said.
“The Hellmouth is the source of N’Faius’s power,” Lindsey hurried on. “If you can close the Hellmouth--”
“It will weaken him,” Giles supplied. “He’ll become vulnerable.”
Lindsey nodded.
“Yeah, but how do we do that?” Buffy asked.
“You have to Join,” Lindsey replied.
“What like, join hands or something?” Xander asked.
“Well, maybe, probably…” Lindsey said.
“Ewww!” Willow exclaimed. “You don’t mean that we have to…you know…right on top of the Hellmouth?!”
Lindsey started to speak, but Tara interrupted. “No, no, it’s a Joining of our minds, isn’t it? Of our wills?”
“Yes,” Lindsey answered, “but…that’s assuming that you’ve already actually…done the ‘you know’ part…”
Riley stared at Buffy in shock, but Xander looked on with hopefulness.
“You haven’t done it yet, have you?” Xander eagerly asked, anticipating a front-row seat at the required Joining.
Buffy crossed her arms and glared at Xander. “Not that it’s anybody’s business, but yes, we have,” Buffy confirmed.
“Damn!” Xander exclaimed disappointedly. “I mean, Yay!” he quickly corrected, a sheepish expression on his face.
“Anything else we need to know?” Buffy asked Lindsey.
Lindsey shook his head.
“Good,” Buffy said. Then she punched Lindsey hard in the face. He crumpled to the ground. Buffy picked up one of the weapons bags and said, “Giles, Xander, get him away from here, and leave the Hellmouth to us. When it closes, this whole place may come down.”
As Giles and Xander began dragging Lindsey away from the school, Buffy turned to her ex-boyfriend.
“Riley, I’ll need you and your team to keep N’Faius busy so that we can deal with the Hellmouth. Can you do that?”
Riley stared at her hard for a moment and then nodded. “Done,” he said. Riley motioned his men towards the front entrance of the school. Once the Initiative team was in, Buffy and Willow and Tara quickly followed.
* * *
When the group reached the ruined library, Riley and his team immediately entered, the force field now gone as N’Faius finished off the last of the trapped humans. Buffy and Willow and Tara waited outside until Riley and his men had pushed N’Faius from the entrance. Then the trio slipped inside.
Trying not to call attention to themselves, the Three crept around the perimeter, dodging bullets and flying debris. When they got to the Hellmouth, they found it glowing with an intense light. At Tara’s instructions, Buffy set down her weapons bag, and the three of them positioned themselves right next to the crevice. Then they joined hands, forming a small triangle.
“Close your eyes and tune everything else out,” Tara said in a calm voice.
“Easy for you to say,” Buffy replied, glancing back at the busy battle behind her.
“Trust Riley to do his job, Buffy,” Willow said. “You can’t help him. We need you.”
Buffy turned back to face her lovers. She met their eyes and let out a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do this.”
The Three closed their eyes and began to meditate. Soon they were breathing in synch, and they felt their Power building.
Buffy felt something nudging at her mind. Then she heard Tara say, “Now open your shields. We must be One.” Slowly, Buffy let the walls in her mind crumble, and she felt Tara and Willow Joining their minds with hers.
Suddenly, their bodies jerked as a massive surge of energy entered them. They swayed under its power for a moment, then they steadied themselves and straightened. As One, they opened their eyes, which now glowed with a golden light.
Buffy and Tara released their hands, and the Three moved to look down into the crevice of the Hellmouth. Then they spoke as One.
“Let the Doorway be Closed.”
Immediately, a sound like the screams of a thousand injured animals came roaring from the pit, accompanied by a wind of hurricane strength. The Three were unaffected. They simply watched as the intense light emanating from the Hellmouth vanished.
Just as quickly, the golden light in their eyes also disappeared, and they were themselves once again. They looked up from the now-closed Hellmouth just in time to see N’Faius whip around towards them.
“NOOOO!!!” he raged as he began his charge.
Riley and the few surviving members of his team trained their taser rifles on the demon lord. “Now!” Riley commanded.
N’Faius was hit with multiple simultaneous taser blasts. Without the power of the Hellmouth, N’Faius felt every one of them. He screamed in agony and fell to his knees.
Buffy looked at Willow and Tara. “Excuse me, you two,” she said in her Slayer voice, “but it’s time for a major take-down.”
Buffy reached into her weapons bag and pulled out an axe. She strode resolutely toward the weakened N’Faius. When Riley saw her coming, he motioned to his men to cease fire.
When the taser blasts had ended, Buffy reared back with the axe. With one swift swing of the axe, Buffy beheaded N’Faius, sending his head flying off. With his head gone, N’Faius’s body dropped to the ground in a thunderous fall. Buffy moved closer and stood over the demon lord’s headless body.
“Dominus, my ass,” Buffy told him.
* * *
The next day, the Scoobies met at the Summers home for a clean-up party. Once the house was returned to a semblance of its pre-earthquake status, Joyce cooked supper, and the gang enjoyed a fun and relaxing night with friends and family.
As the last of the dessert was eaten, the conversation returned to recent events.
“So, what did you do with this lawyer from Los Angeles?” Joyce asked.
“We had to send him on his way,” Giles replied with a shrug.
“Yeah, it’s not like we could keep him prisoner,” Willow said. “Besides, he did help us defeat N’Faius.”
“I don’t trust him,” Buffy said with suspicion in her voice. “Angel said this Wolfram and Hart place is bad news. Lindsey said he didn’t have anything to do with the rising of N’Faius, but I’m not so sure.”
“Even if he didn’t, he was definitely here to spy on us,” Tara pointed out.
“But why?” Xander asked. “What’s in it for Wolfram and Hart?”
“Keeping tabs on the forces of light,” Anya noted matter-of-factly.
“Yes, it makes sense,” Giles added. “If this law firm is nothing but a front for some kind of evil operation, then they would want to keep an eye on any new powers emerging in the area, especially one as formidable as the Power of Three.”
“But, Giles…what does all this ‘Power of Three’ business mean?” Buffy asked. “What powers do we have? How do we access them? Now that the Hellmouth is closed, will our powers disappear? For that matter, is the Hellmouth going to even stay closed? Or do we have some kind of--”
Giles stopped Buffy’s question-rant by raising his hand. After a pause, he said simply, “I don’t know. We’ll just have to see.”
“I don’t like this one bit,” Joyce said. “Isn’t it enough that Buffy has to be the Slayer? Now she—and Willow and Tara too—have to be some kind of special guardian for this, this Hellmouth?”
“It’s frustrating, I know,” Giles said in a reassuring voice. “I wish we had more information, but we don’t. That means we’ll have to do things the old-fashioned way.”
“Trial and error?” Xander offered.
“Yes, well, I was thinking more of the scientific method,” the ex-Watcher replied. “Buffy and Willow and Tara will need to practice using their new powers and experiment with them, learning what they can do and what they can’t do.”
“Like I said, ‘trial and error’,” Xander said.
“ ‘Scientific method’ sounds better, Xan,” Willow quipped. “It makes it sound like we actually know what we’re doing.”
* * *
When the dishes were washed and put away, the Scoobies began making their good-nights. Xander and Anya and Giles were the first to leave. When Buffy and Tara and Willow tried to slip away as well, Joyce stopped them in their tracks.
“Not so fast!” she called to the Three just as they were about to close the front door behind them.
Damn! Buffy thought. We almost made it.
“We’re supposed to have a talk, remember?”
Buffy cringed then slumped and led her girlfriends back inside and shut the door. Although Buffy knew her mother would ultimately be supportive, the Slayer still dreaded having “the talk,” especially now that she and Tara had made their relationship with Willow a true threesome.
The Three stood dutifully before Joyce, but were finding it difficult to meet her eyes. Joyce had to suppress her smirk at their behavior.
“Don’t worry, this won’t take long,” she assured them. “I just have one question.” Joyce paused, causing the Three to shift nervously in place. When they finished fidgeting and finally returned her gaze, she asked, “Do you love each other…really love each other?”
The Three glanced at each other then smiled broadly before turning back to Joyce.
As One, they replied in a firm voice, “Yes.”
Joyce smiled. “That’s all I need to know,” she said. “The rest we’ll figure out as we go.”
Buffy’s eyes became moistened with tears, and she leapt forward to hug her mother tightly. Soon Joyce invited Willow and Tara into the hug as well. For Buffy and Willow and Tara, this night would be one of the happiest moments of their lives.
THE END (for now)
I do have a sequel in the works, so stay tuned! Here are some “teasers” to whet your appetite:
COMING SOON...IN BOOK 2 OF THE POWER OF THREE:
With Buffy and Willow back from the Wishverse, the Three have some happy times, which are complicated when Tara receives a surprise visit from her family.
Displeased that Willow and Buffy and Tara have Joined and have come into their full power, the Senior Partners of Wolfram and Hart hire a special assassin to cripple the Power of Three.
While recovering from the aftermath of the assassin’s attack, Tara and Buffy and Willow receive news that could pull them closer together or tear them apart.
Just one more thing:
I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to the fans of this story. You have been so kind in your feedback and comments. I appreciate your support so much. I truly could not have done it without you. --- DW17